Methley Mining Memorial

A terracotta relief of a miner leading a pit pony, set in the wall of the former Savile Colliery site at Methley, near Leeds. Made by the former miner Harry Malkin, it commemorates the village's pits: Savile, Newmarket, Methley Junction, Foxholes and the Parlour pit.

The mining history in this record

The memorial was the idea of the Rev. Peter Garland, chairman of the Methley Residents Association, and after his death was carried through by a small village group. The Coalfield Regeneration Trust paid for it, with help from Yorkshire Water, the Yorkshire Imps band, the Methley Ex-Servicemen's Club and the memorial group. The sculptor, Harry Malkin, was himself a former coal miner.

It was dedicated on a Saturday, 24 June, before more than 250 people, with music from the Yorkshire Imperial band. Ronnie Lewis, Savile Pit's former manager, and former managers and union men from the pit were guests; Colin Burgon MP accepted the memorial for the village and praised the way the community had held together in the last miners' strike, and the Rev. Ruth Crompton blessed it. The village archive group mounted an exhibition of mining photographs and memorabilia.

People

Harry Malkin, sculptor and former miner; Rev. Peter Garland, who conceived it.

Legacy today

The arched relief, lettered METHLEY MINING MEMORIAL above a miner and his pony, stands on the wall beyond which the Savile Colliery worked until 1985, with planters on either side.

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.

• A sculptured memorial to coal mining in Methley was dedicated on Saturday 24 June before a crowd of more than 250, and accepted for the village by Colin Burgon MP. (contemporary account) ¹
• It was made by the sculptor Harry Malkin, himself a former coal miner, and funded by the Coalfield Regeneration Trust. (contemporary account) ¹
• It stands on the wall beyond which was the former Savile Colliery. (documented fact) ²
• Methley's former pits were Savile, Newmarket, Methley Junction, Foxholes and the Parlour pit. (contemporary account) ¹

Mines

• Methley Junction Colliery — West Yorkshire
  Methley Junction is among the village pits the mining memorial commemorates.
• Savile Colliery — West Yorkshire
  A memorial to Methley's coal mining set on the wall of the former Savile Colliery site, dedicated before its former manager and union men.

Sources

1. (secondary) Coal Mining Memorial — Methley Village
2. (observational) Methley mining memorial (Geograph 6081455) — Geograph

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026