Commemorative Plates

Welcome to our shop. Please select the goods you want to buy.

SEAHAM COLLIERY PLATE

THE NACK

This plate commemorates Seaham Colliery which was the town's first pit and was also known as "The Nack" or the "Mother Pit".

THE FRONT contains images of Seaham Colliery Miner's Banner, the memorial plinths from Christchurch cemetery, which commemorate the lives lost in the famous Seaham Colliery explosions of 1871 and 1880. There is also a copy of the message from a Seaham miner entombed in the 1880 explosion which claimed 164 lives and emblems of seaham Miner's Lodge and the 1984-85 strike.

THE BASE of the plate contains a brief history of Seaham Colliery and details of the message left by Richard Cole in the 1880 disaster.

The plate has a diameter of 10.5 inches (270 mm) and is marked as "Edwardian Fine China".

1
STATUS: Very few left.

DAWDON COLLIERY PLATE

THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN

The plate is edge in gold and includes sketches of Dawdon Colliery, Green Drive Bridge, St Hild & St Helen's Church, motifs of the Dawdon Miners Lodge and the NUM strike 1984-1985.

The base of the plate contains a brief history of Dawdon Colliery, Dawdon Miner's Lodge and the Dawdon Colliery Banners.

The plate is 10.5 inches (270 mm) in diameter and is marked as "Edwardian Fine China".

2
STATUS: Very few left.

VANE TEMPEST COLLIERY PLATE

END OF AN ERA

The closure of Vane Tempest Colliery marked the end of an era for the Durham Coalfield. This was the youngest of Seaham's coal mines and was sunk in 1923.

THE FRONT contains images of the 1982 Vane Tempest Miner's Lodge banner and also emblems of the Miner's Lodge and the 1984-85 strike.

THE BASE contains a brief history of the Vane Tempest Colliery, the Miner's Lodge and the banners.

The plate is 10.5 inches (270 mm) in diameter and is marked as "Edwardian Fine China".

3
STATUS: Currently available.

SEAHAM COLLIERY - "THE NACK"

THE "WEDNESDAY" PLATE

Literally hundreds of men and boys lost their lives underground at Seaham Colliery. This plate commemorates their sacrifice and the fact that so many of the disasters at The Nack happened on a Wednesday.

THE FRONT contains a painted view of the Nack pit framed between the two monuments in Christchurch Memorial Garden which record the names of those who died. Uniquely, the names of all those who lost their lives working at Seaham Colliery are listed around the edge of the plate.

THE BASE contains a brief history of Seaham Colliery , records the dates of the disasters and tells the story of some of those miners who died and quotes the messages they left on pieces of wood and tin cans.

The plate is 10.5 inches (270 mm) in diameter and is marked as "Edwardian Fine China".

4
STATUS: Currently available.