A PLAQUE dedicated to the victims of the Brancepeth Colliery pit disaster will go back on public display next week after spending years behind closed doors in a derelict building.

The marble plaque will be unveiled at Beamish: The Living Museum of the North in County Durham on Saturday, April 1, during the attraction’s annual Old King Coal event.

For almost 20 years, since the Brancepeth Welfare Hall in Willington closed down, the plaque has been out of the public eye. And although the building’s owner, Spectrum Leisure and Management, was happy to open the hall to anyone who wanted to view the plaque, residents were keen for it to be in a more prominent position.

Local historian Olive Linge, 87, felt particularly strongly about this, having spent years researching the 20 men and boys who lost their lives in the 1896 tragedy

She is delighted the plaque has been rehoused at Beamish and hopes some of the miners’ descendants will be able to attend the ceremony in the museum’s band hall.

“This has become very personal for me,” said Mrs Linge. “I feel as though these men have become my friends.”

Jonathan Kindleysides, head of industry at Beamish, said: “The plaque will be displayed in the band hall in the pit village, where it will be seen by hundreds of people. We would like to thank Olive and Spectrum Leisure for making this possible.”

Now in its fifth year, the Old King Coal event celebrates the region’s mining heritage and runs from Wednesday, March 28, to Sunday, April 2. Special activities take place each day, including a recreation of the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday and Sunday. Miners’ banners and bands from across the region will parade from the museum town to the pit village at 1.30pm.

Mrs Linge will unveil the plaque after the parade on Saturday at about 2pm. She will also give a short speech, along with Councillor Fraser Tinsley, the mayor of Greater Willington.

To ensure Willington residents can attend, Greater Willington Town Council is selling tickets for the event priced at £4 for adults, £3 for children and free for under-fives. A free return bus service will pick residents up from the town green at 9.30am and return from Beamish at 3.30pm. Tickets are available from the Town Council Office on the High Street.

For more information, contact 0191-370-4052. To find out more about Old King Coal, visit beamish.org.uk/events/old-king-coal/