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Backbone - photographs from the coalface (Mining Museum)

About this activity

Located in Conference Area, The Hub.

Discover captivating photographs by filmmaker and photographer Meloni Poole, documenting the closure and final months of Annesley Bentinck Colliery her father’s pit in 2000, and the lives of the pit men during this closure period.

Following [my father’s] footsteps to the coalface I spent the final months of the pit’s life,? speaking with the men. The portraits are intimate encounters as they contemplate the ending of their lives as miners and what a new life might mean.?

“Annesley Bentinck was the oldest colliery in Britain. The mine where dad worked, like him, died in a new Millennium. Following his death from miner’s lung, I retraced his footsteps to the coalface. Met the men he worked beside. From my first visit to the colliery it was the men’s bodies that fascinated me. The lines on their faces, the hands, the stories they could tell. My childhood memories of dad are brief flickers. Black mascara was always etched around his eyes and in the creases of his big hands a big black pencil had drawn outlines. As a child I did not imagine what the dust did, even though the signs were already there.” – Meloni Poole

Contacts

National Coal Mining Museum

Caphouse Colliery New Road, Overton, Wakefield, WF4 4RH

01924 848806

Dates and venues

  • Wednesday 21 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 22 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 23 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 24 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 25 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 28 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 29 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 30 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 31 January 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 1 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 4 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 5 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 6 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 7 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 8 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 11 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 12 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 13 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 14 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 15 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 18 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 19 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 20 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 21 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 22 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 25 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 26 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 27 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 28 February 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 1 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 4 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 5 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 6 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 7 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 8 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Wednesday 11 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Thursday 12 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Friday 13 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Saturday 14 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • Sunday 15 March 2026 - 9:45am - 4:00pm, Runs till 16th March. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Further information

Documents

Themes

Art, crafts and hobbies Art and craft-related items, including exhibitions, sales and workshops. Also, hobbies like modelling and collecting.
Learning, interest and advice Events related to advice, education and careers, as well as learning for fun. Also, talks, guided walks, and events of historical or other interest.