It’s Dark Down There – Trimdon Grange Pit

It's Dark Down There
It's Very Dark, Miss
Trimdon Grange Pit Yard
Pit View
Pit View
Coal Stockpile
John Porter
Managers Office
Means The Dole
Nobody Can Live On £7
Sad Decision
Cuda Kept Gannin
Has To Close
Inevitable
Another Job
Pupils Trimdon Grange School
Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
NCB Coal Wagon Shunt Loco
The Shunt Loco
Edward Franklin

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The Closure of Trimdon Grange Pit, 1968

These photographs are ‘stills’ taken from the 1968 ATV documentary ‘It’s Dark Down There’, which interviewed Trimdon Grange miners and residents following the news that pit closure was inevitable.
The stills were captured and titled courtesy of Brian Collins, with permission from the British Film Institute (BFI)

  1. It’s Dark Down There
    Title frame
  2. It’s Very Dark, Miss
    Barbara Robinson (R.I.P.), Trimdon Grange Infants 1967/68
  3. Trimdon Grange Pit Yard
    Trimdon Grange Pit Yard 1967/68
  4. Pit View
    Pit View 67/68
  5. Pit View
    Pit View 67/68
  6. Coal Stockpile
    Coal Stockpile Trimdon Grange 67/68
  7. John Porter
    John Porter, Trimdon Grange Pit manager 1968
  8. Manager’s Office
    Trimdon Grange Pit Manager’s Office 67/68
  9. Means the dole
    Means the dole doesn’t it? Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  10. Nobody Can Live On £7
    Nobody Can Live On £7 – Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  11. Sad Decision
    “Well, this is a very sad decision “- Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  12. Cuda Kept Gannin
    “I think it cuda kept gannin a bit langer” – Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  13. Has To Close
    “I think the men know it has to close” – Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  14. Inevitable
    “It’s inevitable” – Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  15. Another Job
    “Where am I gonna get another job?” – Trimdon Grange pit closure 1968
  16. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  17. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  18. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  19. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  20. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  21. Pupils Trimdon Grange School 1967/68
  22. NCB Coal Wagon Shunt Loco
    NCB Coal Wagon – Shunt Loco, Trimdon Grange Colliery 1967/68
  23. The Shunt Loco
    The Shunt Loco heading towards the Dovecote, Mr Edward (Eddie) Franklin starting to recall the past, Trimdon Grange Colliery 1967/68
  24. Trimdon Grange Colliery Miner Edward Franklin underground circa 1967
  25. Joe Forbes – Trimdon Grange Pit Deputy checking for gas 1967
  26. Gwen (Heron) and Eric watching the Sunday Morning Salvation Army Band, Trimdon Grange circa 1967/68
  27. Remembering Sunday Mornings, Some say ‘The Good Old Days’ Trimdon Grange 1967
  28. Norah Franklin A wonderful Lady Trimdon Grange 1967
  29. Miss Trotter – Trimdon Grange Infants Xmas Party 1967 ll singing ‘ John Brown’s baby gotta sneeze upon iys chest, so they rubbed in camphorated oil. Campho, camphoratus… so they rubbed it with camphorated oil. Happy days.
  30. Christmas Party 1967 Trimdon Grange Infants merrily sing the Camphoratus song
  31. Xmas Party 1967 Trimdon Grange Infants
  32. The End of an Era. William Tulip, Trimdon Grange closure 1967
  33. Mrs Franklin knitting in front of the coal fire
  34. Christine Franklin Trimdon Grange Infants 1967/68
  35. Michael Campbell, Bank Top, Trimdon Village. Trimdon Grange Sunday Church Service 1967/68
  36. Young man crossing the Dovecot walkover bridge, Winter 1967/68
  37. View looking into the Pit. Trimdon Grange Colliery 1967/68

 

The complete documentary can be viewed here:
https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-its-dark-down-there-1968-online

https://player.bfi.org.uk/terms-of-use
Founded in 1933, the British Film Institute (BFI) is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.

Page added 8th Nov 2018