Overview
This lecture explores Sacriston’s unique role during this turbulent period.

One hundred years ago, Sacriston was in the grip of a historic industrial conflict. The short-lived General Strike, in May 1926, in the eyes of some, had brought Britain to the brink of revolution. It was followed by the months-long Miners’ Lockout, as coal owners attempted to force their workers to accept reduced pay and a longer working day. This conflict had national and international ramifications and brought great misery to mining communities. In several ways, Sacriston found itself at the heart of the conflict.

This lecture will tell the story of Sacriston in 1926. Among the questions it will address are: who are the people on the Sacriston Lodge Banner, and why are they there? How did a Sacriston miner’s wife end up in Soviet Russia, addressing the massed ranks of the Red Army? Why were local councillors threatened with jail by the government? And it will tell the story of the extraordinary occasion that marked the opening of the Aged Miners’ Homes on Plawsworth Road in August 1926.

Professor John Tomaney is Pro-Provost (Regional Communities) and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at University College London, and a Trustee of Sacriston Youth Project. This third annual Sacriston Lecture.

Sacriston Lodge banner being paraded up Silver Street, Durham City to the Big Meeting, 1936. Benny Lambert (lodge secretary) is 2nd from left, 3rd from left is Jack Swan (ex MP and miners agent). Carrying a raincoat is Jack Lawson MP for Chester-le-Street (later Lord Lawson of Beamish). Under banner on the left with cigarette is Fred Lawson and on right is Tom Johnson. Source: Beamish Museum.