Creative Responses to Markham’s Mining Heritage

As part of the 10 Years of Walking Together project, supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Creative Writer Lynn Ludditt and a number of Markham Vale Heritage Group volunteers delivered creative heritage workshops. These were bespoke and designed individually for each school and we are delighted to share all of the pupils’ creative responses.

Sessions for primary schools concentrated on coal mining as a local occupation and included three key elements: a day in the life of a miner, living in a mining community, and miners’ hobbies, interests and holidays. Woodthorpe and Duckmanton Primary School produced some fantastic written and visual responses, see below:

Download here – Woodthorpe Primary School

Download here – Duckmanton Primary School

Secondary school sessions covered all of the above, but also included informative displays and presentations relating to the three disasters at Markham Colliery of 1937, 1938 and 1973. These were designed and delivered by local historian and Heritage Group volunteer, Sandra Struggles. Netherthorpe School and Springwell Community College produced some very sensitive and insightful responses, see below:

Download here – Netherthorpe School

Download here – Springwell Community College

Lynn also worked with the local community to use creative writing as a way of responding to Markham’s mining heritage. See some example’s here.

Download here – Community Contributions

Responding to her own experience and relationship with the Walking Together project and the local area, Lynn has produced two new pieces of writing – see below:

Download here – Walking Together

Download here – Learning Together