Welcome to Easington Colliery. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a derelict school building which still attempts to display it’s former grandeur. I will give it the time of day, but it is a different story regarding some unsentimental residents who consider it an eyesore. The others would rather not be further reminded of the village’s demise.

 

A little further along, a structure stood before me, a facade with curtains hanging at the windows but no rear wall. The process of demolition is a regular occurrence in and around Easington, although it hasn’t deterred nostalgia. I was told this former pub was the heart of Easington, where miners would frequent after their hard days graft. The Black Diamond - a reference to mining. It has since been neglected, a pile of rubble at the side of the road.

 

“But it was like a focal point for the miners in Easington when the pits were going. Right from the beginning actually, right from the beginning of the pit.”

 

Driving down Seaside Lane, the shutters pass me by - a montage of a collapsed economy. This is Easington’s main street. Once upon a time, it was thriving. Now there’s hardly anyone around, but why would there be? Who wants to spend their time on a street of void?

 

“I mean but now all we’ve got’s takeaways, now. It’s all we’ve got in Easington apart from the Co-op, is takeaway shops.”

 

The dried grasses seemed to fit in with the surrounding landscape. You would never see a miner here anymore, unless he was walking his dog. A freight train rolls past the old colliery site - a cruel irony. Stones marking the major events of the mine adorn a winding path, leading towards a hilltop - and a stark silhouette against the landscape.

 

Seggar. Dark Shale. Leafy Post.

 

The pit cage that once took miners hundreds of feet below sea level, several times daily for many years, now serves a reversed role. It stands motionless atop the hill, a bleak monument left at the hands of the elements. It’s beautiful up there. It’s peaceful. 

 

“We should have had something better than that.”

 

Famous perhaps for its role as the set for the film ‘Billy Elliot’, Easington is the classic visual of a mining village. But Easington has had its fair share of damaging events too - including the mining disaster of 1951 and being locked down by police during the 1984-85 strikes. The village, which was built solely on mining, has suffered a terrible downfall since the pit closure in 1993. It is now one of the most deprived areas in the UK.