Crofton Mill Pit Remembered exhibition and the Friends of Crofton Mill Field

Crofton Mill Pit Remembered was a free exhibition at Headway Arts in Blyth in November 2023, the result of two years' work by the Friends of Crofton Mill Field. Built round the memories of the colliery's last surviving miners, it set out a timeline of the pit, which worked from 1885 to 1969, and a roll call of the men who worked there.

The mining history in this record

Since 2021 the Friends of Crofton Mill Field have worked to transform the former Crofton Heap, the colliery's spoil heap, and the land around it, and to research the history of the mine. The exhibition presented that research. The group said that although the pit closed in 1969 a few former miners were still alive, each with vivid memories of working there, and that the exhibition was centred on their stories so that they would not be lost.

Alongside the timeline and the roll call it showed research by sixth-form students at Bede Academy, and a memory board invited visitors to add their own recollections of the pit. Headway Arts made a new pit banner for the occasion with community groups and schools, combining the site's mining heritage with its modern transformation, and three former miners, Danny Winter, Bill Godfrey and Bobby Bryson, unveiled a new plaque on the Crofton Mill Pit mine tub beforehand.

People

Danny Winter, Bill Godfrey and Bobby Bryson, former Crofton Mill miners.

Legacy today

The High Sheriff of Northumberland opened the exhibition, with the Blyth Tall Ship Shanty Singers, on Thursday 16 November 2023, and it closed with a celebration concert by the local bands Beeswing and the Attic Band on Saturday 18 November. It was sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Heart of Blyth.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Since 2021 the Friends of Crofton Mill Field have worked to transform the former Crofton Heap and to research the history of the mine. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The exhibition at Headway Arts, the result of two years' work, included a timeline of the mine's operation and a roll call of former miners. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The exhibition was centred on the stories of the few former miners still alive. (contemporary account) ²
• Headway Arts created a new pit banner for the occasion with community groups and schools. (documented fact) ²
• A celebration concert closed the exhibition on 18 November 2023. (documented fact) ^1,2

Mines

• Mill Pit, Blyth — Northumberland
  An exhibition of the Crofton Mill Pit's history and its miners' memories, by the group restoring its former spoil heap (Blyth Town Council; Northumberland Gazette).

Sources

1. (secondary) Crofton Mill Pit Remembered Exhibition (Blyth Town Council, 16 November 2023) — Blyth Town Council
2. (secondary) Free exhibition at Headway Arts in Blyth will tell stories of Crofton Mill Pit miners — Northumberland Gazette

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026