LECTURE TOUR ROUND RUINS OF THE PRETORIA PIT
We will have one of our normal events on Saturday September 16th which is £3 and starts at Ten am. Then on Saturday September 23rd we have our new family tour. This will start at 1.00pm and will be £3 per adult, £1 per child. Children under five will be free.
The Over Hulton Community Group regularly organises events with mining historian Alan Davies round the ruins of the Pretoria Pit. On December 21st 1910 344 local men and boys were killed in an underground explosion in what was then the Hulton Colliery on the Atherton and Bolton border. Mr Davies gives a full account of this awful tragedy – what led up to it, the cause, the event and the aftermath. Now the group is to stage the same event but geared towards parents or grandparents and children. John Bullen chairman of the group explains, “This is one of the most important events that we put on. We feel it is vital to inform people of exactly what happened on our own doorstep just over a hundred years ago. We call the event a “Walk and Talk” and that is just what it is. We start at the Memorial off Newbrook Road and the walk to the actual ruins is less than a mile where everything is still visible in the undergrowth. It doesn’t matter when we do this event, be it December, May or September, when we get to where it actually happened there is always an eerie atmosphere. Anyone who has attended will tell you the facts are never to be forgotten. Now we are trying to put on an event aimed at informing the younger generation. We will have one of our normal events on Saturday September 16th which is £3 and starts at ten am. Then on Saturday September 23rd we have our new family tour. This will start at 1.00pm and will be £3 per adult, £1 per child. Children under five will be free. It is always muddy so stout footwear must be worn. Also places must be booked. If this is a success we will try to make it a regular event.” Contact John 01942 874719 or email j.bullen1@ntlworld.com
