MineArchive
Guardian, Six Bells
| Category | Art |
|---|---|
| Dates | 28 June 1960: the Six Bells explosion. 28 June 2010: Guardian unveiled. November 2011: royal visit. |
Guardian is Sebastien Boyesen's 20-metre steel miner standing over the site of Six Bells Colliery, Abertillery, in memory of the 45 men killed there by an explosion on 28 June 1960. It was unveiled on the fiftieth anniversary, in 2010, and is dedicated to all mining communities.
The mining history in this record
On 28 June 1960 an ignition of firedamp at Six Bells Colliery set off a coal-dust explosion that spread through almost a whole district of the mine, killing 45 of the 48 men working there. The colliery has gone, and its site is now Parc Arael Griffin.
For the fiftieth anniversary Sebastien Boyesen made a figure of a miner, the statue itself 12.6 metres tall and about eight tonnes, standing on a plinth to a total of 20 metres. It is built from more than 20,000 horizontal strips of 10 mm COR-TEN weathering steel, separated so that from a distance the miner seems almost transparent, while close up the strips close into a solid figure. It cost over £200,000.
People
Sebastien Boyesen, artist. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, who led the unveiling service.
Legacy today
Guardian was unveiled on 28 June 2010 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, before about 7,500 people, some four hundred of them relatives of the dead, whose names, ages and home towns are on steel plates around the plinth. Prince Charles visited it in November 2011.
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.
- Guardian, by Sebastien Boyesen, is a 20 m statue of a miner overlooking Parc Arael Griffin, the landscaped site of Six Bells Colliery, Abertillery. (documented fact) 1,2
- It commemorates the explosion of 28 June 1960 that killed 45 of the 48 men working in one district of Six Bells Colliery. (documented fact) 1
- It is built of more than 20,000 horizontal strips of 10 mm weathering steel, which make it look almost transparent from a distance. (documented fact) 1
- It was unveiled on 28 June 2010, the fiftieth anniversary, at a service led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, attended by about 7,500 people. (documented fact) 1
- The names, ages and home towns of the 45 dead are on steel plates around the plinth. (documented fact) 1
Mines
- Six Bells Colliery — Blaenau Gwent
Guardian stands over the landscaped site of Six Bells Colliery in memory of the 45 men killed there in 1960.
Disasters
- Six Bells Colliery explosion, 1960 — 28 June 1960
Sources
- (secondary) Guardian (sculpture) — Wikipedia
- (secondary) Guardian | Six Bells Colliery, Wales — Sebastien Boyesen Design
Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026