Inside the conserved furnace shaft


New roadway under construction


New Deputy model on existing tour


New Trepanner display on existing tour

Our £2.7 million Making Sense of Mining project is already well underway.  There are three main strands to the project:

Conserving our historic furnace shaft
Extensive conservation work took place in the furnace shaft in 2007 and 2008.  The shaft is now fully conserved, and when our underground tours are re-launched in 2012, visitors taking part in underground tours will be able to view the shaft from the surface and from 140 metres underground.  Work is taking place at present to fit a special steel and glass cover to the top of the shaft.

Uncovering new underground roadways

The new underground roadways are complete and are now being fitted out with new models, interactives and displays. 

Creating new sensory and interactive displays
We have worked with a consultation group to develop the new displays and interactives for the underground tour.  The group has met on a regular basis to discuss plans for the new tours and to see the work that has already been carried out.  Installation of the new displays and interactives will be completed in early 2012 and we hope to launch the new underground tours to our visitors later this year.

There will be new areas and activities to explore, as well as working machinery and the sounds and smells of a working mine.

Visit our project page again soon to follow our progress or click here to support the project's Buy a Brick Appeal.