Frustration remains over lack of public unveiling for Wigan mining statue

Wigan Heritage and Mining Monument (Whamm) said it was still a source of frustration that Covid-19 wrecked their plans for a high-profile public unveiling of the statues between the Wigan Life Centre South and the town hall.

The group spent some five years raising an incredible £150,000 for the statue, which depicts a man, woman and child in tribute to the generations who laboured in the pits and were involved in the mining industry.

However, after all that hard work and time the sculpture was eventually unveiled to very little fanfare in March 2020, just before the country went into its first national lockdown as the novel coronavirus gripped the world’s attention.

That meant Coun Sheila Ramsdale, the chair of Whamm, was almost there alone at the moment the statue was unveiled, with a workman quietly removing the covers.

That is one reason that, despite its work being technically done, Whamm is determined to keep going nearly a year after the statue appeared in the town centre.

The group has a few matters to sort out but is also determined that one day it will be possible to bring the public along for an event to properly unveil the sculpture.

Coun Ramsdale said: “We all definitely feel that there is unfinished business with this. We’ve not had an opportunity to look at the site and we were going to plant it up and that sort of thing.

“The group feels very disappointed at the minute about the way things are because of Covid.

“I remember I went down with the contractor and we just unveiled the statue. There was nobody there. It was the day before lockdown and we decided we would just have to go down and do it.

“We felt at the time it was only going to be a temporary situation and that we would be able to come back relatively quickly. Of course we’re coming up to the anniversary in mid-March and there seems to be no end to it.

“We’re going to be carrying on as Whamm. We want to ensure the area around the statue is planted up properly and we do still intend to have a proper public opening.”

Coun Ramsdale said Whamm also has some money left over from its fund-raising activities and wants to donate it to Wigan and Leigh Hospice, but has to enter into discussions because of the Charity Commission’s extremely strict rules on what can be done with funds in this situation.

The statue, which was designed and crafted by Hull-based artist Steve Winterburn who also created the likeness of rugby league legend Billy Boston in Believe Square, features a male miner, a female pit brow lass and a child in recognition of the many young people from Wigan who had to work in the coal industry.

Coun Ramsdale explained the significance of the design and why it is still important to raise the public profile of the mining statue.

She said: “The group considers it a huge part of Wigan’s heritage.

“The money that was made here and the wealth of the big landowners came through mining and the people of Wigan who were involved in it.

“Wigan was one of the largest mining towns, certainly in the North West, and its wealth was built on coal.

“We want to have a day where we can acknowledge the statue and the efforts people put into it.

“It wasn’t just men involved, there were women and children, and that’s why we’ve got the three figures. I would think Wigan’s is one of the few statues in the country that actually acknowledges this.

“A lot of statues are just of the men who were involved but we had the pit brow girls and we wanted to make sure they got recognition as well.”

Coun Ramsdale said Whamm hopes to speak to Wigan Council about potentially tying in with the work being done on King Street as a heritage action zone.

She said ultimately she would like to see the mining statue included in a trail of other heritage landmarks and attractions which would guide visitors around Wigan on a journey through the town’s history.

That would include the town hall adjacent to the statue site, as it was previously Wigan’s technical and mining college before becoming the seat of local government.

The long campaign to make the mining statue a reality included a number of extremely generous donations from anonymous supporters.

Actor Maxine Peake also did a fund-raising night to help the campaign, while councillors chipped in with Brighter Borough funding and the public helped to get the project across the finishing line thanks to a crowd-funding effort.

A time capsule including a copy of the Wigan Observer, pictures, artefacts and coins, all items suggested by members of the history group, was also placed beneath the statue site on College Avenue.

Despite the completion of the statue being overtaken by circumstances, Coun Ramsdale says there is still a sense of pride among Whamm’s members that they managed to achieve what they originally set out to do back in 2015.

She said: “There is definitely satisfaction. All of us agree that we would do it all over again.

“It was just such a tragic way in the end that we had to unveil it.”

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