Events

It's the new generation banner bearers

Durham Miners' Gala 2006

Banners – old and new

The Heritage Lottery Fund has long been involved in giving advice to the organisers of this “Big Meeting” as it was previously known.

Last year, the Heritage Lottery Fund gave over £149,000 in funding to seven local community groups and the money was used to restore old banners and create replicas of many of those banners previously used at the Durham Miners’ Gala.

The front of the new Bowburn Banner

Thanks to a sizeable grant, one of those groups benefiting from the grants, the Bowburn Banner Group, was able to have a new banner made which will be in this year’s parade.

The new banner, which is being dedicated by the Bishop of Durham in Durham Cathedral on Saturday, was designed by local children, young people and adults and will commemorate the village’s mining history. Traditional skills and materials were used to make the banner.

A photo from the 1950s was used as a template for the banner and as work progressed, the group realised they wanted to let the community take a prominent place in the finished artwork.

And the back of it with all the faces

So, for a £20 donation, people could have the faces of their relatives or themselves featured on the banner, almost making it a Bowburn Banner of Fame.

As a warm-up to the Miners’ Gala on Saturday, there will be an Unfurling of the new Bowburn Banner by Cllr. Ernie Foster, Chairman of Durham County Council, with entertainment by the Shepherd Group Brass Band at the Bowburn Community Centre on Friday 7 July. Admission is free and you can just turn up on the door for a night of fun.

The Big Meeting

In 1871, the first Miner’s Gala was staged by the Durham Miners’ Association which had been formed in 1869.

The event was always called “The Big Meeting” or the “Durham Big Meeting” by the miners and their families, but the Miners’ Gala in Durham followed in the tradition of many “Big Meetings” which took place in the fight for justice.

Mining banners were first paraded in 1831, and since the first Durham Miners’ gala in 1871 have been an important part of the region’s heritage. The colourful banners bore mottos to empower the miners in their struggle with their employers.

A Saturday filled with tradition - old and new

As in-keeping with previous Durham Miners’ Galas, the city centre will be filled to the brink with the colourful banners and the rhythmic tunes of the brass bands.

On Saturday 8 July, between 9:00 and 12:00, the bands and banners will parade through Durham city out to the race course where speeches will be held.

From 12:30 until 13:30, guest speakers will take to the stage and between 12:00 and 16:00, the entertainment will be provided by X-factor stars Journey South and ten-piece brass band Jaipur Kawa at Old Durham racecourse.

Maybe not your traditional brass band

The Jaipur Kawa Brass Band is visiting the area as part of the Durham Brass Festival. The band are Rajasthani gypsies from Jaipur in Northern India and includes not only eight musicians but also a fakir and a gypsy dancer.

Musafirs Hameed Khan Kawa is the leader of the group and he got together the best musicians in Rajasthan and they perform traditional Indian music, well-known Bollywood songs and North Indian classical music arranged with an unexpected twist.

At 15:00 there will be a Cathedral Service at Durham Cathedral. Bands and banners will leave Old Durham Racecourse at 14:30.

For more information about the Durham Miners' Gala, contact Durham Tourist Information on 0191 384 3720.