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Packing Up and Moving Out

First transmitted in 1967, two mining families make the decision to move from Northumberland to Nottingham.

First transmitted in 1967, two mining families make the decision to move from Northumberland to Nottingham.Bevercotes Colliery in Nottingham is one of the most modern in Europe, and the National Coal Board wants to recruit its workforce from pits that are due for closure in the North East. One of the communities affected is Ashington, a traditionally close-knit mining village with its roots in the 19th Century that is home to generations of mining families. How will life compare for those uprooted to the brash new housing estates of the Nottinghamshire coalfields?

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29 minutes

Last on

Wed 20 Dec 1967 20:35

Did You Know?

One of the deepest mines in Britain, Bevercotes Colliery opened just a few years before this programme was filmed and remained a working mine for three decades until its closure in 1993. It is now the site of a nature reserve managed by the Forestry Commission.

Many miners from the North East made the same choice as Alan Norman, inspiring pit poet Jock Purdon's song Farewell to 'Cotia: 'But leave your picks behind you / You'll not need them again / Off you go to Nottingham / To join Robin's Merry Men.'

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Credits

Role Contributor
Reporter Jim Douglas Henry
Participant John Kirkup
Participant Alan Norman
Participant Shirley Norman
Producer Julian Jacottet
Series Editor Bill Morton
Series Editor Desmond Wilcox

Broadcast

Featured in...

Coal Mining in Britain Collection

This programme is available online as part of the Coal Mining in Britain Collection