Just over half way through its three-year project to conserve and catalogue the archives of the National Union of Mineworkers, the Modern Records Centre at the University of Warwick has published the first five catalogues relating to early workers’ organisations in the mining industry.

The vast archive collection, previously held at the NUM headquarters in Barnsley, was relocated to Warwick in January 2023 following specialist conservation work, and now fills some 300 metres of temperature and humidity-controlled shelf space. Work has been under way since the move to catalogue and index the material so that it can in future be made available to researchers and others with an interest in the history of the industry and the former mining communities.

The story of the National Union of Mineworkers archive and its move from Barnsley to Warwick is told elsewhere on the SSLH website at Inside the NUM archive: 150 years of coal mining history.

Links below go directly to the relevant collection on the Modern Records Centre website.

Wakefield Friendly Associated Coal Miners, 1811, 1961

The earliest and the smallest collection associated with the NUM archives. The rules of the Wakefield friendly society provide an insight into the administration of an officially authorised workers’ organisation formed in the first year of the Luddite uprising in northern England. A transcript of the rules (digitised and viewable through the catalogue) and related correspondence from 1961 are also included in the collection.

South Yorkshire Miners’ Association, 1858-1909

The South Yorkshire Miners’ Association was formed in 1858 and merged with its West Yorkshire equivalent in 1881 to form the Yorkshire Miners’ Association. The collection includes an 1872/3 rule book, account books from 1858-1876, records of arbitration in 1879, branch membership records, scrapbooks and other research material collected for the use of the union and its successor.

West Yorkshire Miners’ Association, 1867-1891

Like its South Yorkshire counterpart, the West Yorkshire Miners’ Association was formed in 1858 and merged in 1881 to form the Yorkshire Miners’ Association. The collection at the MRC includes a volume containing minutes, circulars and leaflets from 1875-1881, account books from 1867-1874 and 1877-1881, a membership register for Mirfield Lodge, and records relating to the creation and administration of the West Yorkshire and North Staffordshire Co-operative Coal Mining and Building Society (a union-run colliery).

Durham Cokemen’s and Bye-Product Workers’ Association, c.1875-1918

The Durham union for cokemen and colliery labourers was formed in 1874/5 and merged to form the National Union of Cokemen and Bye-Product Workers in 1915/6. The small collection includes 1909 bylaws, statements of accounts for 1915, records relating to arbitration, and a minute book for the Marley Hill Lodge, 1889-1909.

National Union of Cokemen and By-Product Workers / National Union of Mineworkers (Cokemen’s Area), 1916-1987

The National Union of Cokemen and By-product Workers was formed in 1915 / 1916 and became the Cokemen’s Area of the newly formed NUM in 1945. The collection includes rules, a complete run of minutes between 1916-1961 (plus a small number of later minutes), financial accounts relating to the formation of the union in 1915/6, and a small amount of material relating to negotiations during the First World War.

The remainder of the material received from the National Union of Mineworkers will continue to be made available in stages over the next 14 months. Catalogues for smaller collections will come online by late 2024 (with the Cumberland Miners Association coming next). Full catalogues for the extensive collections of material relating to the Yorkshire Miners’ Association / NUM Yorkshire Area and the NUM itself will take longer, becoming available later in 2025 and the beginning of 2026.