Community Development Journal Advance Access originally published online on January 31, 2005
Community Development Journal 2005 40(3):343-351; doi:10.1093/cdj/bsi020
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The Durham Miners' Gala and the spirit of community
Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Address for correspondence: m.mellor{at}unn.ac.uk
Can industrial communities survive the loss of their industrial heritage? Can communities once thought to be in terminal decline reinvigorate themselves? Evidence from the Durham coalmining communities suggests that the answer to both questions is yes. This paper presents evidence from a study of the annual Durham Miners' Gala the Big Meeting that reflects a revival of community vitality around the event. Together with an analysis of the Gala itself, the complex background to the resilience of the mining communities is explored.