Doncaster: Priest, mineworker and artist - exhibition

Underground train - painting by David Lawrance

An exhibition marking the work of a priest in the coal mines in the 1970s and 1980s is on display at Cusworth Hall in Doncaster.

The Reverend David Lawrance, chaplain for the Industrial Mission, worked in and around collieries in the 1970s and 1980s - including during the miners' strike - and kept extensive records and sketches of life and work underground.

This exhibition, created from his drawings, photographs, objects and paperwork, also marks the centenary of his birth in 1926.

He created many pictures of mines, above and below ground, and the exhibition includes oil paintings of a pithead and miners underground working by the railway as well as numerous sketches; he was an accomplished artist, exhibiting paintings in the Royal Academy and the Mall galleries in London.

Items on show include metal crucifix made out of railway fittings by miners at Rossington colliery, Rev Larwance's mining helmet, pickaxe, Davy lamp, NUM badges, qualification certificates and journal - as well as an owl sculpted from coal and a fossil.

The Church of England priest also worked in steelworks for the Industrial Mission, which was founded in 1959 to provide Christian ministry in the industrial workplace.

Exhibition curator Nicola Fox said: "Many people are unaware of the work of the Industrial Mission in the coal mines, and of the pastoral support it provided to miners, including during the miners' strike in the 1980s.

"The Reverend David Lawrance's artwork and other items give a rare view into of life in the mining industry, above and below ground."

The exhibition is free to visit at Cusworth Hall, Doncaster, until Monday 12 April. The museum at Cusworth Hall reflects local daily life from the 18th century to the present day.

Opening times and further informationcan be found at: www.heritagedoncaster.org.uk/cusworth-hall/
See more pictures HERE