A NEW project will explore the area's once vital mining heritage after receiving a grant.

Historic England has granted £9,850 through its Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories to Queens Hall Arts for 'Beneath Our Feet' 

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The project will collaborate with 14 schools exploring Hexham and west Northumberland's disappearing mining heritage.

It will look at the impact it had on the wider world and histories of the people it employed.

The schools taking part are:

  • Haydon Bridge High School
  • Bellingham Middle School
  • Allendale Primary School
  • Bellingham Primary School
  • Greenhaugh Primary School
  • Greenhead Primary School
  • Haltwhistle Primary School
  • Henshaw Primary School
  • Kielder Primary School
  • Newbrough Primary School
  • Otterburn Primary School
  • Wark Primary School
  • Whitfield Primary School

The quarries, lead and mineral mines of Northumberland helped to build cities, create art and support the worldwide economy.

Now these sites are almost invisible within the rural landscape and the stories of the mining communities are not shared.

The projects selected provide volunteering opportunities for young people or those facing loneliness and isolation.

In Fourstones, Prudham sandstone quarry produced stone used in prestigious buildings including Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street.

Despite this legacy, this history is not recognised in museums and local families know little about it.

The project Beneath Our Feet allows children and young people to find out about the lives of miners and their communities through visits to heritage sites, talks from local people linked to mining and researching archive resources.

They will then choose three artists to work with, to find new and exciting ways to co-create artworks and resources to share this working-class history with schools and wider communities. 

Five other projects in the North East were also handed grants.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "I'm excited to see the wide range of creative approaches and subjects proposed for Everyday Heritage Grants: Celebrating Working Class Histories.

"These community-led projects demonstrate that heritage is all around us and accessible to everyone.

"The projects will highlight that wherever people live they are surrounded by historic buildings, landscapes and streets, industrial and coastal heritage that can help bring communities together.

"The histories of castles and great houses and their inhabitants are well documented, but we know far less about our everyday heritage.

"From council estates, pubs and clubs, to farms, factories and shipyards, these are the places where most people have lived, worked and played for hundreds of years. We want to explore these untold stories and celebrate the people and places at the heart of our history."