Become part of history…buy a brick in our historic furnace shaft and support our Making Sense of Mining project
Making Sense of Mining – Opening in 2011
Making Sense of Mining is a £2.7 million project to extend and revitalise our unique underground tour and conserve our historic furnace shaftFurnace shafts were once used at collieries to provide ventilation, mainly through the eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. As shafts became deeper, it became more difficult to circulate fresh air through the workings. Furnaces, or fire baskets, in the shaft provided the draught in the upcast shaft, and this drew air through the downcast shaft, pulling fresh air through the pit..
- Discover 570m2 of new underground roadways filled with interactive and sensory displays.
- View the newly-conserved furnace shaft, believed to be around 130 years old, from the surface and from underground to see just how deep you have descended.
- Take part in exciting new tours: Meet a Miner, Hands-on History, Subterranean Science, Sensory Tour or Techno Tour
If you have already made a donation to our online appeal, thank you once again for your support; your donation is very much appreciated. Click on the shaft below to view your bricks.
Total raised so far £31,325.00