Durham's other cathedral': mining union hall reopens after 14m restoration

"Redhills, the headquarters since 1915 of the Durham Miners' Association, which has reopened after a 14m restoration with a hugely ambitious purpose that aligns with the original aims of the site. Redhills is considered one of the world's finest trade union buildings. Famed for its pitmen's parliament and regarded as Durham's other cathedral, it was once named as one of the 10 buildings that helped change Britain."

"We're barely open and all of our guided tours are sold out into next year, said McIntyre. Bill Moir, who will be leading tours, took the Guardian around what is few people's idea of what a miners' hall should look like. It was designed like this so that the men of the coalfields, when they came to represent their pits, would enter an entrance hall equally as glorious as the entrance hall of the owners of coalmines, said Moir."

Redhills, the Durham Miners' Association headquarters since 1915, has reopened after a 14m restoration to pursue an ambitious purpose aligned with its original aims. The Edwardian baroque building is famed for its pitmen's parliament and regarded as Durham's other cathedral, and it is considered one of the world's finest trade union buildings. Two wooden benches outside memorialize men sacked and victimized during the 1984-85 miners' strike. The site has undergone a soft relaunch with guided tours selling out into next year. The hall was designed to give coalfield representatives an entrance equal in grandeur to mine owners' entrances and embodies roots of the welfare state.

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