News / South Bristol
Bedminster’s mining heritage honoured with life-size statue
A new statue has been unveiled to honour a neighbourhood’s important industrial past.
The life-size silhouette of a miner, which has been installed just outside the Jolly Colliers on West Street, pays tribute to generations of mining families once described as “the bedrock of Bedminster and Ashton”.
Organisers say it serves as a reminder of a bit of history “often forgotten or, at worst, not even known about”.
Speaking at an unveiling event on Saturday was Bedminster-born historian Garry Atterton who described the occasion as “quite emotional”.
“All of us would like to say thank you very much to the past generations of Bedminster coalminers and their families,” he said.
“And the women particularly around their families there – a big big thank you for what they did.”
Garry Atterton played a key role in setting up the Bedminster Coalminers Heritage Group
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Bristol’s coal industry stretched across Bedminster, Easton and Kingswood, forming part of the wider Bristol coalfield.
Miners worked in cramped, dark and damp conditions, often walking long distances underground before beginning their shifts.
The memorial recognises all miners of Bedminster and Ashton with particular focus on miners who lost their lives during the Malago Vale Colliery explosion of 1891 which killed ten men and boys.
The new statue is celebration of the mining heritage of Bedminster
The statue was supplied by Somerset Miners Welfare Trust which aims to leave a legacy for those who worked on the coalfields.
A trustee explained that while an earlier idea for a single bronze statue proved too costly, the group instead developed a wider initiative – installing more than 40 miner figures across different locations in the region.
“We decided to keep the mining heritage alive we put up these miners,” he said, gesturing to the new statue proudly.
The unveiling ceremony included a symbolic planting of a “miner’s merlin” plant which chosen for its resilience – a reflection, organisers said, of the communities the statue represents.
All photos: Rob Browne
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