Old Whitehaven mining banners restored to former glory
- Published
The banners will be used in future parades
Mining banners, some of them more than 100 years old, are to be repaired and put on show in west Cumbria.
It will take an expert a year of painstaking work to restore the 16 banners which are in Whitehaven Colliery Mission.
The project will cost £18,000 with £7,000 donated by the Copeland Community Fund.
Once restored they will feature in a series of exhibitions on the area's mining heritage and future parades.
Haig Colliery Mining Museum and Whitehaven library are also involved in the restoration project.
Elaine Woodburn, chair of the Copeland Community Fund, said: "We no longer dig up coal in this area but we are still a mining community and some of the bonds which held the people together have loosened.
"Having the banners on display and having events for people to participate in will bring the community closer together and give a real sense of pride and ownership of our mining heritage."