As part of our Caphouse Machine Rally (our Heritage Open Days event), we will once again allow access to visitors to see inside the Coal Screens Building – a rare survivor of what was a very common structure across the English coalfields.

Learn from a former miner about how coal was brought out of the ground and even get an up close look at the last wooden headgear in Europe.

During this unique experience, discover how miners’ productivity and pay was measured, how the coal was screened so it could be graded for different markets and how waste was removed from coal.

You’ll need a good head for heights and be happy with steep and narrow stairs to enjoy this rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and see inside the plant where coal was sorted for nearly 100 years!

Remember coal mining? Come and listen to the story of the mining industry, told in original songs, all written and performed in folk style by Alan Wood, one of Yorkshire’s finest singer/songwriters, supported with a spoken narrative by John Snook.

The show highlights the changes that took place in society throughout that period and, whilst it inevitably mentions the disasters and tragedies that accompanied coal mining, it also has lighter moments, and illustrates how mining influenced wider changes within other industries and society in general.

Meet knitting historian & writer, Ashleigh-ellan Kavanagh, and learn how women have long used creativity as political power.

This talk explores how women have long used creativity as political power—from suffragettes’ handcrafted fundraising campaigns, to the Knit a Brick protest, to the viral Pussyhat Project. Audiences will gain insight into how art, craft, and collaboration have reshaped movements and claimed space in public discourse.

Join us for spotlight talks about our fascinating collections, inspired by our latest exhibition, From the Earth Comes Light: Women, Creativity & Mining in 20th Century Britain.

Curator, Alison Cooper, unearths the untold stories of women whose creativity illuminated the coalfields of 20th Century Britain. Discover powerful works by women artists in the National Coal Mining Museum collection, where industry meets imagination, and resilience becomes art.

11am sessions will focus on Coal Queens & 2pm sessions will focus on individual artists

The Scar is a 1997 film by Amber Films, serving as the first instalment in their Coalfield Trilogy. The narrative explores the lives of women in East Durham following the closure of the last collieries, focusing on their resilience amidst economic and social upheaval. Set against the backdrop of a community in transition, the film examines themes of loss, survival, and adaptation, as families struggle to find new identities in the wake of industrial decline.

An Illustrated Talk with Graham Ibbeson MBE: Join us for an intimate afternoon as the 'People’s Sculptor' reflects on a life shaped by art, family, and community, marking the close of our From Coal Queens to Comedy Kings exhibition.