Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden

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Coordinates: 51°36′42″N 3°16′51″W / 51.611735°N 3.2807925°W / 51.611735; -3.2807925
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Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden
"an important site of public commemoration and memory"
TypeMemorial garden
LocationSenghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales
Coordinates51°36′42″N 3°16′51″W / 51.611735°N 3.2807925°W / 51.611735; -3.2807925
Official nameWelsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden
Designated12 March 2024
Reference no.PGW(Gm)78(CAE)
ListingGrade II
Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden is located in Caerphilly
Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden
Location of Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden in Caerphilly

The Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden at

centenary of the 1913 event. In March 2024 Cadw added the garden to its Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales
. Its listing record describes the garden as "an important site of public commemoration and memory".

History and description

The

First World War it was supplying 10,000 tons of coal a week to fuel the British Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow.[1] An explosion at the mine in May 1901 saw the deaths of 81 men. An even greater explosion in the mine on 14 October 1913 became the greatest colliery disaster in British mining history, with the loss of 439 men and boys.[2] The subsequent government inquiry, which saw the mine manager fined £24 and the colliery owners £10, caused great bitterness.[3][a]

A memorial to the Universal Colliery disasters was unveiled on 14 October 1981 at the gates of the Nant-y-Parc Primary School.

centenary of the 1913 disaster. The memorial takes the form of a bronze sculpture, by Les Johnson,[6] depicting a miner leading another to safety.[7][b] The surrounding garden, designed by Stephanie Wilkins,[9] includes a remembrance wall and a memory path commemorating the dead of the 152 mining disasters in Wales.[10] The 521 clay tiles commemorating individual losses were made by Ned Heywood and Julia Land, ceramic artists from Chepstow.[9][c]

The garden is registered at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[d] At the time of its listing, the then First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said, "the legacy of coal is still an essential part of our history. It is only right that a site of such symbolic importance as Wales’ National Mining Memorial receives formal recognition".[13] Cadw's listing record for the site describes it as "an important site of public commemoration and memory".[9]

Gallery

  • Postcard of 1913 showing a funeral procession through Senghenydd
    Postcard of 1913 showing a funeral procession through Senghenydd
  • The 1981 memorial
    The 1981 memorial
  • The 2006 memorial
    The 2006 memorial
  • The Welsh National Mining Memorial (2013)
    The Welsh National Mining Memorial (2013)
  • The remembrance wall
    The remembrance wall
  • Part of the path of memory
    Part of the path of memory

Notes

  1. ^ Although the low level of the fines imposed caused public anger and derision, the inquiry did lead to important improvements in mine safety practices in subsequent decades.[4]
  2. ^ Johnson’s other commissions include the statue commemorating Keith Park in Waterloo Place and that celebrating Brian Clough in Nottingham.[8]
  3. ^ Heywood and Land also produce the blue plaques used for commemorations by English Heritage.[11]
  4. ^ The listing of the garden, on 12 March 2024, made it the most recent addition to the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, bringing the total number of registered parks and gardens in Wales to 385.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Universal Colliery, Senghenydd (85091)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Senghennydd Disaster". National Library of Wales. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  3. ^ "1913 Universal Colliery Disaster". Aber Valley Heritage Group. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  4. ^ "The Senghenydd Colliery Disaster of 1913". Online Safety Trainer. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Universal Colliery Mining Disasters Memorial, Senghenydd (410287)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Welsh National Mining Memorial". Art UK. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  7. ^ "National Mining Memorial, Senghenydd (419459)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Les Johnson FRSS". Royal Society of Sculptors. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  9. ^
    National Historic Assets of Wales
    . Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Welsh National and Universal Mining Memorial Garden, Senghenydd". Caerphilly County Borough Council. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  11. ^ Kirka, Danica (19 September 2023). "London's historic blue plaques seek more diversity as 1,000th marker is unveiled". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Parks and gardens". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Site dedicated to thousands of lives lost officially recognised as the National Mining Disaster Memorial Garden of Wales". Welsh Government. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
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