Wigan mining statue unveiled

The covers were removed quietly and without fanfare after the original reveal event was cancelled because of the current pandemic crisis.

The tarpaulin had to be taken off so the statue wouldn’t begin to oxidize so the honours were performed by a single workman last week.

The sculpture designed and crafted by Hull-based Steve Winterburn (who also did the nearby Billy Boston statue) has finally become a reality after years of hard work by members of the local history group WHAMM, whose chair Sheila Ramsdale was the inspiration behind the project.

The statue features a miner, pit brow lass and a child, and now proudly stands near Wigan Town Hall – the borough’s former mining college.

There are plans for an official unveiling later in the year.

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