Bearpark Community centre is at the hub of the local village, a red brick building originally built in 1921 as a miners welfare hall. An old pit wheel stands in front of the building, a memorial to the village’s mining history. We were asked to produce two panels exploring the mining history as well as the story of the Scottish King being caught by his reflection as he hid under the bridge here.
The panels were produced in GRP and one was framed in steel with a laser cut image of the heritage of the local area. The other was produced in our ARC lectern design. We worked with Cath Brew of Red Plait Interpretation once again and she produced some lively and entertaining text to support the images on the panels.
Bearpark is a village and civil parish in County Durham in England. It is situated two and a half miles west of Durham, and a short distance to the north of Ushaw Moor. The name may be a corruption of the French term Beau Repaire – meaning “beautiful retreat”. Half a mile to the north of the present village lies the ruins of Beaurepaire Priory, built in the 13th century by monks from Durham Cathedral. Bearpark later became a coal mining village until 1984, when the mine was closed.
Tags: Small towns and villages, GRP