Willington's
Hidden
Heritage
WELCOME TO OUR SITE CELEBRATING THE HIDDEN HERITAGE OF WILLINGTON
A FORMER COAL-MINING TOWN IN COUNTY DURHAM
Over the course of a year spanning 2022-23, arts organisation Northern Heartlands worked with the community in the former mining town of Willington – building on our previous event The Man Engine – helping schools, community groups and care home residents explore the story of their town from Roman times to the present day. The whole project culminated in an exciting event on the Town Green and we’re delighted to say that the information gathered from feedback indicated that wellbeing increased for those who took part, as well as a wider group of people inspired by heritage. We started with 70 volunteers helping to celebrate the beacon lighting as part of the Platinum Jubilee back in June 2022 and ended with Hyem Fest! in July 2023.
Have a look at what we got up to and the heritage we uncovered.
It turns out there’s more to Willington than you might think!
The Hidden Heritage project ran from June 2022 – November 2023.
We worked with schoolchildren, care home residents and the communities of Willington and surrounding villages.
If you have more stories from WIllington’s history you would like to share on this site, we would love to hear from you!
Just get in touch here
Read the Hidden Heritage & Wellbeing report by University of Birmingham here
