Students build miner hutches for local village memorial

Students build miner hutches for local village memorial

Around 40 students from the college’s fabrication and welding, construction and automotive classes teamed up to build both of the carts, as part of a memorial in Stoneyburn and Bents.

Presented by Stoneyburn and Bents Future Vision Group in memory of the miners who lost their lives working at the Foulshiels Coliery, the memorial was officially opened on Saturday, 1 June.

Steven Morrison, Learning and Skills Manager at West Lothian College, said: “I’m really proud of our students- they all worked together to make two miner hutches as part of the memorial in Stoneyburn. It is great to see the students supporting our local community and it also allows their work to become more than just an assessment. It now has legacy, as it will remain there for years to come for everyone to see.”

The village of Stoneyburn and Bents was born out of the Foulshiels Colliery, where 25 miners tragically died whilst working in the Colliery between 1910 and 1957, and from this the idea of the memorial was brought to life.

Following its unveiling last weekend, the memorial displays the names of those who died whilst working in the Foulshiels Colliery- shaping the history of ‘a community built on coal’.

Sandy Edgar, from Stoneyburn and Bents Future Vision Group, added: “We decided it was time to build a memorial to the miners who lost their lives, and where we built the cairn, is next to two large raised beds and we came up with the idea to place a miner’s hutch in both beds.

“We wanted to get the community involved, and the miners hutches the students built for us are wonderful, and fit in perfectly with the memorial. We take heart in the fact that the students who helped build the hutches can look at them whilst passing through our village and take some pride at what they have achieved.”