Rough Lea Lodge banner

The banner of the Rough Lea miners' lodge at Hunwick, County Durham, made by J. Tuthill of London in 1873 and redesigned in 1890. Lost for years, it turned up when Sunnybrow Welfare Hall was demolished, was bought for the village by Betty Pratt, re-dedicated by Arthur Scargill in 1994 and remade in 2022 for the Durham Miners' Gala.

The mining history in this record

Rough Lea was the largest of Hunwick's six collieries, at work from 1858 to 1931, and like most Durham pits it had its own lodge of the Durham Miners' Association. The lodge's banner was made in 1873 by the London banner makers J. Tuthill and redesigned in 1890.

After the colliery closed the banner went missing for many years. Workmen demolishing Sunnybrow Welfare Hall found it, and it was sent with the hall's contents to a saleroom in Bishop Auckland, where a Hunwick resident, Betty Pratt, recognised it and bought it for the village. It was restored and re-dedicated by Arthur Scargill in 1994 and kept at Redhills, the miners' hall in Durham, where it deteriorated; in 2022 it was remade and carried at that year's Gala.

People

Betty Pratt of Hunwick, who bought the banner back for the village. Arthur Scargill, who re-dedicated it in 1994.

Legacy today

The remade banner was on display at Hunwick Workingmen's Club in 2023 and was paraded through Durham at that year's Gala.

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.

• The Rough Lea banner was made in 1873 by the London firm of J. Tuthill and redesigned in 1890. (documented fact) ¹
• After going missing for many years it was found by workmen demolishing Sunnybrow Welfare Hall and recognised in a Bishop Auckland saleroom by Betty Pratt of Hunwick, who bought it for the village. (later recollection) ¹
• It was restored and re-dedicated by Arthur Scargill in 1994 and later stored at Redhills. (documented fact) ¹
• Remade in 2022, it was paraded at that year's Durham Miners' Gala and was on display at Hunwick Workingmen's Club in 2023. (documented fact) ¹
• At the 2023 Gala the Rough Lea banner was paraded through Durham with Jack Drum's Nordestinos. (contemporary account) ²

Mines

• Rough Lea Colliery — County Durham
  The banner of the Rough Lea colliery's miners' lodge at Hunwick, made in 1873, rediscovered, re-dedicated in 1994 and remade in 2022.

Sources

1. (secondary) Rough Lea colliery & Rough Lea Pipeworks — Hidden Heritage
2. (secondary) Redhills at Durham Miners Gala 2023 — Redhills: Durham Miners' Hall

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