National Union of Miners Archive Move
We were delighted to gain the move for the National Union of Miners from Huddersfield Road Barnsley which has mainly been moved to Harwell Restoration Services for conservation attention. The collection will then be rehomed at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Library, where it will be catalogued and prepared for public access, alongside Warwick’s numerous other collections on labour and trade union history.
The rescue project has been generously funded by the Wellcome Trust, the National Manuscripts’ Conservation Trust and the Pilgrim Trust and will run from 2022-2025, following start delays caused by the pandemic.
The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain was formed in 1889 and became the National Union of Mineworkers in 1944. The NUM’s ongoing belief is that coal can benefit the UK and can be used in a safe clean way and is best produced by miners in the UK. It is still a functioning organisation today.
The collection is mainly formed of archives (ledgers, minutes, subject files, some plans and photographs) as well as printed reports and key reference books, journals and newspapers. The archive covers the national and international activities of the NUM, as well of the Yorkshire Area.
The crew enjoyed working with Paul from the NUM on a move that had various challenges including very difficult access and many staircases in a beautiful historic building! We look forward to being able to see the restored items in the future.
Testimonial from University of Warwick:
Dr Charlotte Berry, Archives Manager at the University Library, said: “We have been really delighted with how well the execution of the moves went, following several years of planning and preparation. Through changes of Warwick staff, I had to get to grips with a massive project quickly, and Julian Briggs was instrumental in steering me through the various planning stages. The moves themselves went very smoothly, the team were well prepared and were adaptable to changing situations as the moves progressed, and we are pleased with the end result. The project is not complete, as we have other moves to undertake whilst the conservation work continues, but I am confident the overall project will have a very positive outcome. I look forward to working with Jamie Briggs in the future and I am happy to recommend their services to other heritage professionals looking for high levels of collections care and careful handling of unique and distinct collections.”
Posted: 20th July 2022
