“Unity is strength?”: Representing unions at the British national coal museums

Abstract

Coal mining was central to the disputes between the British government and unions in the 1980s; a heritage recalled today in the national coal mining museums of Great Britain. Unions were long a social bedrock for British mining communities. After the National Union of Mine Workers’ strike contributed to an election loss for the Conservative Party in the 1970s, it was a prime target of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's anti-union efforts in the following decade. The 1984–1985 Strike was a pivotal moment for British unionism, with violent clashes between strikers and police transfixing the country. The end of the once dominant coal industry in Britain is inextricably linked with the 1984–1985 strike and wider union conflict. This paper explores representation of unions and related issues at the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Wales, National Coal Mining Museum for England, and the National Mining Museum Scotland. It analyzes the discursive themes about unions revealed in interpretive material, reflecting on the reasons for similarities and differences between the museums. Visitor reactions to the museums are investigated using user-generated content on TripAdvisor. The implications of a significant disconnect between the prominence of union heritage in museum narratives and audience engagement are considered.