News / Heritage
New project to commemorate Bristol’s mining history
A new project hopes to commemorate the history of Bristol’s coal mines and miners, many of who were once the “bedrock of Bedminster and Ashton”.
Through the 18th and 19th centuries, Bristol had many mines across Bedminster, Easton and Kingswood, forming part of the Bristol coalfield.
Working in cramped, dark and damp conditions, the Dean Lane Colliery in Bedminster was one of the largest of its time and was also the site of one of Bristol’s worst-known mining disasters in 1886.
is needed now More than ever
A new project called Digging Deep from the Bedminster Coalminers Heritage Group (BCHG) hopes to unearth the story of all miners, especially the 157 who lost their lives in several mining disasters across Bedminster and Ashton.
Dean Lane Colliery employed more than 400 men and even some children – photo: Bedminster Coalminers Heritage Group
A large part of the project is based on the research of Bedminster-born historian Garry Atterton, who has also played a key role in setting up BCHG.
To support the project, BCHG have set up a fundraiser which will hopefully raise enough money for a plaque or statue around the Dean Lane area.
The former Dean Lane Colliery is now the site of Dame Emily Park – photo: Martin Booth
On the fundraiser page, the group explains the crucial impact Bristol’s mining history on the city’s industrial growth: “Under the roads and streets of what we can now call a gentrified Southville & Bedminster, miners would have been toiling away for a pittance, walking miles from pit entry to coal face, often walking for half an hour before beginning work
“Miners were the bedrock of Bedminster and Ashton, working in cramped, dark and damp conditions… ones that we can only begin to imagine, and they helped shape Bedminster and its community at a time of rapid industrial growth.”
After the Somerset Miners Association was set up in 1872, nearly 4,00 miners around the region went on strike and demanded fair wages for their work.
They emphasised that their demands were “just and right” and despite being exposed to dangerous conditions, their wages were barely enough “to live from hand and mouth”.
As a result, many collieries began to shut down, one of which was South Liberty Pit, located near South Liberty Lane in Bedminster.
2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the closure of South Liberty Pit, and BCHG are holding a special event to “mark this momentous” event. The event takes place at St Aldhelm’s Church in the Chessels on June 21.
The group have urged relatives, historians or residents in the area to donate whatever they can so this project can be brought to life.
Main photo: Bedminster Coalminers Heritage Group
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