HERIAN News

Children, ex-miners and local artists in a south Wales valley have joined forces to create a permanent reminder of the age when Wales lead the industrial world.

Situated in the Afan Valley, the community inspired sculpture trail will tell the story of the valley and its people during the most dynamic era in Welsh history.

The £20k project, a partnership between Groundwork Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Forestry Commission and Cywaith Cymru has been made possible with the support of HERIAN – Heritage in Action. Funding from Welsh Assembly Government's Department for Enterprise Innovation and Networks (Invest Wales) contributed £10,000 to the project.

Local pupils have created a series of drawings, poems and designs with Groundwork's Artists in Residence Carlos Pinatti and Anne Gibbs, based on artefacts, photographs and the history of Duffryn Rhondda Colliery. All of these will now be used to craft sculptures and other symbols linked to the industrial era, such as miner's ID badges and boundary markers.

(Making records of the the history they learnt from the workshop with Alan Boast, South Wales Minsers Museum)

In addition, ex-miners and members of South Wales Miners Museum have also contributed experiences and skills to the Afan Valley Sculpture Project.

Part of the Afan Forest Park Interpretation Strategy, the Trail will be based on the Parks cycle paths, a route following the one-time railway line that delivered coal to Port Talbot docks.

Richard Walters from Groundwork's Environmental Action Team said: “The aim of this interpretation project is to encourage participation across the community, but also to do justice to a past that still shapes our lives today. When the project is complete next spring, we hope to have fully realised our vision.

“We've brought people of all ages together to take pride and showcase the past, present and future of the valley and it's hoped local people and visitors will learn and share in the commemoration of the colliery, the miners and the children who worked down the mine – many of whom would have been the same age as those working on this project.”

The main sculpture will be created using special shaped terracotta bricks designed by members of the South Wales Miners Museum and form a chimney reflecting one of the more distinctive features of the era. Each brick will incorporate elements in relief, extracted from stories written by the pupils of Duffryn Primary School.

Checks in cast iron and bronze will be placed along the path near the chimney, to reflect those worn by miners which acted as identify badges when working at the Colliery. A further 13 cast iron boundary markers crafted by Cymer Afan Comprehensive School pupils will form creative signage along the Trail.

Jeff Pride, director of HERIAN, the partnership of public and voluntary bodies set up to harness the story of South Wales' industrial past as a source of economic tourism and community benefit for today. “Mining and miners played an enormous part in developing south Wales into an industrial giant in its day, so it's important to find ways to remember each and every one of the people that helped shape our unique nation.

“For hundreds of families in the south Wales valleys, mining brought communities together, and more than a century later, this is an excellent example of how people today can collectively make the past central to their lives. HERIAN's Interpretation Plan is all about encouraging community focused heritage projects such as this one, and is why we so strongly supported this scheme.”