At 10:16 26/04/04 +0100, Tony Brewis wrote:
>I hope that at least the office block, depicted on my beer-mug, can be
>preserved. I recall it as being a building of great character and well
>worth converting into a mining museum.
Another museum is not necessarily the answer. I suspect there might already
be a good representation of the coal industry in northern France and
adjoining areas, and sympathetic re-use of the buildings could be a better
option. As to the library and archives - their retention for public access
in the area is of paramount importance for any future interpretation of the
industry.
If you, as mining historians, are aware of document collections which are
under threat, then take action to notify local and national interest groups
in addition to the appropriate repositories which might take them into
care. There have been occasions in the past where individuals had 'rescued'
documents, often in a piecemeal fashion. They often end up in an attic or
garage, out of context and inaccessible to researchers.
Peter
______________________________________________
Dr Peter Claughton,
Blaenpant Morfil, nr. Rosebush, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599
University of Exeter - School of Historical, Political and Sociological
Studies
(Centre for South Western Historical Studies)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
See http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/files/mining-history/ for details.
Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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