News from the Colliery Stables
Helped by the recent dry weather work on the stable roof has moved along very quickly. In fact, it seems we have got the roof on just in time as the museum is currently being battered by high winds and rain! Yesterday I took advantage of the bright sunny morning to get the first shots of the building as it emerged from the scaffolding.
Dave and Gordon are busily painting the inside of the building. It may look very white and clinical, however, this clean appearance will be in keeping with colliery stables of the time. The issue of the 1911 Mins Act made it compulsory for stables to be kept clean and regularly painted, stating that all stables must be ‘…cleaned daily and kept in a sanitary condition, and all roofs, walls, and partitions of any stables shall, unless painted or made of slate, tiles, glazed brick or iron, be lime-washed at least once in every three months.’
Over the coming weeks doors, windows and stall partitions will be added then the work of adding the periods fixtures and fittings will begin. The museum collection includes a number of Pit Pony related items, such as harness, tack room fittings and signage. The stables will give us the perfect place to display these items in their natural setting.
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