Stuart Forster outlines the heritage and what to expect when visiting the Durham Miners’ Gala in Durham City, England, the annual event known as ‘the Big Meeting’.
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Many people in North East England hope for fine weather on the second Saturday of July. That’s the day of the Durham Miners’ Gala. Trade unions parade their banners past the Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County. Politicians and union leaders speak from a podium and stage area erected at Durham Racecourse. Many beers are sunk over the course of the day.
The 2024 Durham Miners’ Gala takes place on Saturday 13th July.
If the sun shines, as many as 200,000 people can gather in Durham City to attend the event.
Nicknamed the Big Meeting, the first of the annual events was held back in 1871. It soon evolved into one of the United Kingdom’s biggest annual trade union and Labour movement meetings.
Durham miners’ gala
All of the region’s deep coal mines have been closed but the union banners from collieries are still paraded through the city to the Racecourse cricket ground, by the River Wear. Marching brass bands play along the route. It’s the colour and festival atmosphere, as much as the politics, that attract many attendees.
Durham Marriott Hotel Royal County hotel (Old Elvet; tel. 0191 386 6821) is one of the key stops along the way. Bands play for the dignitaries who traditionally gather on the hotel’s balcony.
Union leaders and politicians address the gathered crowd during speeches from a podium on the Racecourse cricket ground. In 2016 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, veteran Member of Parliament for Bolsover Dennis Skinner and Napoleon Gomez, leader of Mexico’s Los Mineros, counted among the speakers.
The Big Meeting in Durham
Information about aspects of trade unionism and mining history is displayed inside marquees erected on the cricket ground.
I first attended the Durham Miners’ Gala as a bairn of six or seven with my parents and grandparents. It was the fairground rides, by the riverside, that I remember most clearly. And being given one of the square-headed nails that were used in the horseshoes that were then worn by pit ponies.
One of the first things anybody growing up in County Durham and the surrounding area learns is that ‘Gala’ is pronounced ‘gay-lah’ not ‘gar-lah’.
As an adult, I return to photograph the banners and speakers and to create reportage of people enjoying the day. As a history graduate, I’m aware that the Durham Miners’ Gala is a part of my region’s heritage.
Coal mining in north-east England
The pit wheels and slag heaps of collieries were once a common sight in County Durham and neighbouring Northumberland, which collectively formed the Great Northern Coalfield. Nearly 250,000 men worked mining coal in the northeast of England in 1913, when roughly a quarter of Britain’s coal, around 56 million tons, was hewn from mines in the region.
Coal mines were then a major source of employment in the United Kingdom. In 1920 they accounted for 1,191,000 jobs.
When the coal mining industry was nationalised, in 1947, the Durham Coalfield had 234 deep mines. None remain. The last to close was Wearmouth Colliery, in 1994, whose pithead is now the site of Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light.
Many of the communities in which mines were located were close-knit. Some of the villages and small towns where coal mines provided the chief source of employment have never fully recovered from the closure of their pit. Parading their banners is, for some, a reminder of better times.
Attending Durham Miners’ Gala
“I think it’s a celebration of working-class life in the North East. The pits have gone but it hasn’t broken the spirit of people or the communities. It’s now become a great festival, a carnival. Some people come for the fun fair, some people come for the speeches, some people come for the bands, some people come for the banners, some people come for the laughs. It brings people together,” said Kevin Maguire, associate editor of the Daily Mirror, while talking to me after the 2016 Durham Miners’ Gala.
“There’s nothing else like this in Britain. There’s no other festival, gathering, gala — call it what you want — like what happens in Durham, so it has to continue. In fact, it’s thriving and, ironically, seems to be doing better since the pits went than when they were here. I think it’s because people want to focus, they want to come and be with other people to have a good time, as well as to have the politics,” he added.
Politicians at the Durham Miners’ Gala
“The Durham Miners’ Gala is, in my view, the most important Labour and trade union event of the year. It’s an event that people come together, from across the country, from various trade unions, in their thousands, to celebrate the struggles of time gone by, to learn from the struggles of the past year and discuss the struggles of the year ahead, ” said Richard Burgon, the MP for Leeds East, who was one of the speakers at the 2016 Big Meeting.
“The gala is a day to remember our heritage. It’s a day to fight for a better future. It’s a wonderful day, where you catch up with friends old and new. There’s a real positive community spirit here; a socialist spirit here; a working-class spirit here; and I’m always proud to attend,” he added.
“I’ve been coming to the Durham Miners’ Gala since I was a young lad and never imagined I’d be invited to speak…so it was a really emotional day and I was pleased to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with international guests, with people like Dennis Skinner, with trade union leaders, with our elected leader Jeremy Corbyn and, fundamentally, with all of the people out here today demonstrating that they want a better a society,” said Burgon.
Participating in the Durham Miners’ Gala
“It means a hell of lot. It’s one day in the calendar year that we always look forward to. We see a load of old comrades, friends, marras as we call them. It means a great day for us. That’s the big thing for me, to see everybody. They’re all here, it’s great. I’ve been involved 10 years now, carrying the banner from New Herrington,” said Paul Young, who was a coal miner for 12 years.
“Today’s really about bands coming together, playing some good music and having a good time. I play B-flat bass and have played a lot of tunes today. I’ve been many times. I love it. It’s the best weekend of the year,” said Alex, a member of the Strata Brass, visiting the North East from Barnsley in South Yorkshire.
And, for some, attending the Durham Miners’ Gala is simply a reason to get out and enjoy a few pints. The pubs of Durham City are, no doubt, preparing for a busy day.
Durham Miners Gala
After banners are paraded through the city speeches are held at Durham’s Racecourse. A Miners Festival Service is then held at 3.00 pm in Durham Cathedral.
Hotels in Durham City
The Durham Miners’ Gala is usually Durham City’s busiest day of the year. If you want to stay in or around the city, it makes sense to book a room in advance.
One city centre option is the Hotel Indigo Durham. The hotel occupies the Old Shire Hall, formerly used by Durham County Council.
Search for accommodation in Durham City via Booking.com:
Booking.com
As an alternative to staying in Durham, consider booking a hotel room in nearby Newcastle upon Tyne:
Travel to Durham City
Durham is less than three hours’ train ride from London and one hour 40 minutes from Edinburgh. Newcastle upon Tyne is 12 minutes by train from Durham City.
Consider using public transport to reach Durham City on the day of the miners’ gala.
Durham car parking
Normally the Walkergate Car Park and Prince Bishops Car Park are ideal for visiting the city centre. Car parking in Durham is trickier than usual on the day of the miners’ gala as the city becomes very busy.
Park and ride car parks at Belmont, Howlands and Sniperly offer an alternative way of reaching the city centre on the day of the Big Meeting.
Map of Durham City
The map below shows Durham city centre:
Books about the gala and coal mining
Interested in the heritage of the gala and the history of coal mining in North East England? You can buy the following books from Amazon by clicking on the links or cover photos:
Memory Lane: The Durham Miners Gala by Michael Richardson.
Women of the Durham Coalfield in the 19th Century: Hannah’s Story by Margaret Hedley.
The Coalminers of Durham by Norman Emery.
The Pit Sinkers of Northumberland and Durham by Peter Ford Mason.
Further information
Find out more about the Durham Miners’ Gala via the Durham Miners’ Association and the Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala websites.
For about the attractions and things to do in the city of Durham and surrounding county, see the This is Durham website. Visit North East England is a portal to tourism-related websites across the region.
Thank you for visiting Go Eat Do and reading this post about the Durham Miners’ Gala. Thinking of visiting the city? Here’s a look at things to do during a weekend break in Durham City.
Stuart Forster is an award-winning travel writer who is based in North East England. Stuart was named Travel Writer of the Year at the Netherlands Press Awards of 2020. He lives 15 minutes’ drive from Durham City.
Photographs illustrating this post are by Why Eye Photography.
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A version of this post was originally published on 2 July 2016.
Anne Morgan
July 7, 2017 at 14:06I consider myself to be a trade unionist, yet I’ve never been to the biggest trade union event of the year *hangs head in shame*. It’s a bit late to organise it for this year, but I’ll really have to try to do better next year. It seems like a great day out and Durham’s a lovely city, I could easily make a weekend of it. Don’t know why I haven’t already.
Stuart Forster
July 11, 2017 at 12:48Thanks for your comment Anne. The 133rd Durham Miners’ Gala was certainly a good day out. Around 200,000 did indeed gather under the summer sunshine.