Coal Town

Many of the portraits you will see of colliery workers were made on their last shift - for many it was their last day of working life, some of the younger men opting for redeployment to the remaining working mines in the area, older workers being offered voluntary redundancy after working most of their lifetimes in the mines.

In March 1981 Mik was given permission by the National Coal Board to photograph Ashington Colliery for only two days on condition that:

 "The photographer must be accompanied at all times by a senior colliery official who  will oversee all photographs/locations , all photographs will be vetted by the National Coal Board on completion"

In 1988 he was given access by the National Union of Mineworkers to photograph Ashington Colliery prior to closure.

Selection of Mik's images of Ashington, Northumberland once reputed to be the biggest mining village in Europe. 

Mining Apprentices - 1981 

Contraband Sign - Woodhorn Colliery 1981

George Miller Davison - Last Man Out - Woodhorn Colliery 1981

The Banksman - Ashington Colliery 1981

Deserted Lockers - Ashington Colliery 1988

Discarded Pit Clothes - Woodhorn Colliery 1981

Canteen Worker - Ashington Colliery 1981

Contraband Sign - Ashington Colliery 1988

Mining Apprentices - Carl Upcast Drift Mine - Ashington Colliery 1981

'I Quit' - Ashington Colliery 1988

Mik's Father On His Redundancy Day - Hirst Progressive Social Club 1988

 

Born and raised in Ashington, Mik  amassed an archive of over 50,000 pictures during his 44-year photography career. We're currently in the process of curating Mik's archive into digital format, to enable future generations to enjoy his work.