THE historic home of the former mining trade union in County Durham is being opened for public tours for the first time in more than a century.

The Durham Miners’ Association (DMA) has decided to start giving guided tours of its headquarters at Redhills, the Durham Miners’ Hall, in Durham city.

The red-brick building in Flass Street, which is 103 years old and features an oak-panelled debating chamber, was last year selected as by Historic England as one of the country’s 100 irreplaceable places.

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The historic debating chamber at Redhills, known as the "pitman's parliament"

Ross Forbes, programme director for the DMA, said: “Redhills is a unique and extraordinary place. It moves and inspires people who visit, and we are delighted to be able to open our doors to the public with these guided tours.

“The tours are in keeping with our plans to return Redhills to the people, and we are sure everyone who joins us will find it a fascinating experience.”

The first tour will take place on Sunday, March 1.

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Proceeds from ticket sales will go towards the Redhills appeal, which was launched in 2017 to raise money for a major restoration of the building, which the DMA hopes will enable it to be used as a centre of education, heritage and culture.

With the help of expert guides, visitors will be able to explore the rooms and corridors of Redhills, which serve as a living archive of the labour movement.

The miners’ hall, which replaced a smaller building in North Road, Durham, opened in 1915 and was paid for by the subscriptions of the more than 150,000 miners who were then members of the DMA.

The tours, which last 90 minutes, are offered in partnership with mining and labour heritage organisation Education 4 Action (E4A) and will take place at 1pm every first Sunday and Wednesday of the month.

Tickets are priced between £3 and £10 and are available from buytickets.at/redhillsdurham