THE PITHEAD buildings at Gomersal Colliery once stood on this piece of land, but these few pieces of scrap metal, pictured in 1976, were the only reminders of them, an article in the Telegraph & Argus reported.

‘The site is now being landscaped and a new view has opened up from Bradford Road towards historic Oakwell Hall, Birstall, which stands among the trees to the right of the picture,’ said the report, which appeared in the year 2000.

In the picture, the M62 runs parallel to the pylons on the skyline.

The mine was a major employer in its heyday with about 380 miners. The pit closed in 1972 due to safety concerns and because of a decline in demand for coal.

Shortly afterwards Kirklees Council flattened the entire site, re-shaped the heaps of mine spoil. They planted thousands of trees and laid out Oakwell Hall Country Park.

The colliery buildings disappeared under the country park’s car park and information kiosk, at Nutter Lane. The colliery vanished completely. There wasn’t even a sign or a plaque to alert visitors to its former presence.

More than 30 years later, Spen Valley Civic Society were behind efforts to build a permanent landmark over the mineshaft to commemorate it.

Former Bevan Boy and miner Fred Knox, of Birkenshaw, worked in the mine from 1953 until its closure. As president of Spen Valley Civic Society at the time, he said that he was glad that it was to be remembered.

“It is an important part of the heritage around here but the only reference to it is at Gomersal’s Red House Museum.

“Gomersal was a good pit to work for because everybody worked together as a team. On an average day I would crawl 200 yards in about a space of 25 inches. I would be in the mine from 6.30am to 3pm with just a headlamp.”

Fred said the pit was sunk in 1916 and the sellable output of coal brought to the surface varied from almost 167,000 tons in 1966 to 88,000 in 1971 - a year of severe production problems.

As safety officer, Fred could only remember two bad accidents in the mine - when a miner fell down a 60 yard shaft between a cage and a wall, and when a miner was killed by a falling cage.

The society decided to commission a piece of public art to be located on the site where the colliery stood, to make an information board showing where the pit buildings and mineshaft once were and to publish a book of reminiscences of the miners who worked there with recollections by their families and friends.

A grant was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the society achieved all it had set out to do. Some of the retired miners helped make ‘pavers’ - paving stones with individual messages, to surround the imposing sculpture.

The sculptors were Pete Rogers and Alex Hallowes from Xceptional Designs, based at Barrow-upon-Humber.

On the opening day in August 2005 there was an event attended by miners who had once worked at the pit, their relatives, and many local residents.

A booklet of recollections was published entitled ‘Life Dahn’t Pit’.