Exploring the North Pennines mining heritage through performance and creative writing

Blog by Simon McElligott, Co-Director of The Knotted Project

As part of the 2025 community arts programme, The Knotted Project undertook thorough research into the lead and silver mining heritage of the North Pennines National Landscape. We scheduled four site visits in which our team walked the land around Nenthead and Alston, including Nenthead Mine and Killhope Lead Mining Museum.

We gained an incredible insight into the rich history of the area and unlocked special stories which we felt would connect young people to the history in an engaging manner. These stories included young people’s experience of the mining industry at the time, and also the lived experience of residents with whom we engaged. We were inspired by the rugged weather conditions, the beautiful spar boxes, and the promise of wealth and riches if you struck it big.

Through our project we were able to engage new audiences with the heritage of the area, with most of the participants in our workshops having limited or no existing knowledge of the history. Our approach was to help people emotionally connect with the challenges, struggles and opportunities of this time period in history; reflecting on human experiences of the mining industry through true stories and also engaging imaginations through creative writing and performance. Those who did have an existing knowledge of the heritage, ignited their imaginations through creative writing and poetry, assuming the role of a character and envisioning their lifestyle, emotions and motivations to live the rugged and challenging life that they did.

Research and stories gathered through our independent research phase were bolstered and enriched through conversation with local residents at a community story lunch event at The Hive in Nenthead. We heard some amazing accounts of the history and saw some inspiring and powerful photographs which enabled us to better imagine this time in the North Pennines. Those stories were then brought to life through physical theatre and performance in Kirkoswald Primary School by 49 young people aged between four and ten. They developed short performances and also some powerful creative writing.

This creative writing then formed the stimulus and basis of a poetry session with Alston Moor Drama Group who developed a unique and emotive piece of writing, inspired by the young people’s work. All of this material formed the base of the community workshops we delivered at Nenthead200. These workshops were co-designed by the participants of Alston Moor Drama Group and used physical theatre to engage whole families and a mixture of age ranges in the history.

We returned to Kirkoswald Primary School to work again working with the 49 students who were inspired by the poetry and performances of Alston Moor Drama Group and the members of the public at Nenthead200. None of this would have materialised without the original work of the primary school pupils so it was a lovely full circle moment that the young people really connected with.

Feedback from participants was very positive, with people sharing that they had learned a lot and engaged with the history more than they had done in the past. The headteacher of Kirkoswald Primary School felt it was a fantastic opportunity for their students to engage with their history whilst having some fun and creativity with theatre. Members of the public at Nenthead200 had fun and enjoyed participating in something new and using a different approach to connect with history.

We felt this was a great project to be part of and we really enjoyed connecting with the North Pennines National Landscape Team. We learnt a lot and greatly developed our own knowledge of the history, and the breadth of activity being delivered across the region. Thank you for having The Knotted Project involved.

The Knotted Project was awarded an arts bursary as part of the 2025 community arts programme for the Land of Lead and Silver project. theknottedproject.co.uk

The Land of Lead and Silver project is led by the North Pennines National Landscape team and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players, and Historic England.