Why have you used such new bricks to repair Saltom’s winding house?

In order to keep the repairs “honest” at Saltom Pit, builders used new bricks.

English Heritage requested this as Saltom is a scheduled ancient monument.

The aim is for future generations to be able to tell apart the original building from 2008’s structural work. It’s not a “restoration” designed to blend in.

The repairs make the structure safe while showing the difference between what’s original and what’s new. 

 

What are those bits of rusty metal at Saltom Pit?

These are steel artworks created by artist Stephen Charnock.  Continuing the “memory walk” at the candlestick, each artwork is engraved with someone’s memory of Saltom.

We had to cheat with the mining memories, as Saltom stopped drawing coal in 1848. We used the words of eight year old Sarah Gooder from the 1842 commission into child labour:
“Sometimes I sing when I’ve light, but not in the dark; I dare not sing then.  I don’t like being in the pit.”

More recent memories are happier:  A local resident recalled:
“Oh yes, that was one of the highlights of the summer season, going down to Saltom beach.   With a bottle of cold tea, and enjoy yourself hunting for crabs in the pools and that”