The Village Remains… The Last Tub, South Hetton, Durham
10. AND THE VILLAGE REMAINS... THE LAST TUB
South Hetton, Co Durham. DH6 2TT
What3words - tucked.choirs.wash
And The Village Remains: The Last Tub is a public sculpture by Ray Lonsdale installed at the Robin Todd Centre in South Hetton as a memorial to the village’s mining heritage and the community that grew up around the pit. The work forms part of a wider local project to mark the area’s industrial past and to provide a visible focal point for remembrance and civic pride.
The sculpture is cast in weathering steel (corten), Lonsdale’s favoured material, which develops a warm, rust‑red patina that sits naturally against the brick and concrete of the village streetscape. The composition centres on a miner and a coal tub, a compact, readable scene that balances dignity with everyday detail. The tactile surfaces and life‑size scale invite close inspection and encourage viewers to imagine the physical labour and social life of the colliery community.
Lonsdale’s title—And The Village Remains—frames the sculpture as both elegy and affirmation: it acknowledges the loss and disruption caused by pit closures while insisting on the persistence of community memory. The “Last Tub” motif evokes the final shift, the end of an era, and the ordinary objects that carry collective meaning long after industry has gone. The work therefore functions as a local memorial rather than a generic monument, rooting national industrial history in a specific village story.
The statue was commissioned through local initiatives and unveiled in late 2016, an event attended by hundreds of residents and covered in regional press. The project was driven by community groups and civic partners who sought a permanent tribute to South Hetton’s mining past and to the people whose labour shaped the place.
Since its installation the sculpture has become a familiar landmark at the Robin Todd Centre, used for remembrance events, school visits and as a backdrop for local storytelling. It sits near a mural and other heritage panels that together form a small outdoor narrative about the pit, daily life and the social fabric of the village. Local responses emphasise gratitude that the community’s history has been made visible and accessible.
The work is publicly accessible year‑round and rewards a short visit: the corten surface changes with light and weather, and nearby interpretive panels help place the sculpture in historical context. As part of Ray Lonsdale’s wider regional output, the piece contributes to a trail of steel sculptures across County Durham that link industrial memory with contemporary public art.
The Village Remains… The Last Tub, South Hetton, Durham
10. AND THE VILLAGE REMAINS... THE LAST TUB
South Hetton, Co Durham. DH6 2TT
What3words - tucked.choirs.wash
And The Village Remains: The Last Tub is a public sculpture by Ray Lonsdale installed at the Robin Todd Centre in South Hetton as a memorial to the village’s mining heritage and the community that grew up around the pit. The work forms part of a wider local project to mark the area’s industrial past and to provide a visible focal point for remembrance and civic pride.
The sculpture is cast in weathering steel (corten), Lonsdale’s favoured material, which develops a warm, rust‑red patina that sits naturally against the brick and concrete of the village streetscape. The composition centres on a miner and a coal tub, a compact, readable scene that balances dignity with everyday detail. The tactile surfaces and life‑size scale invite close inspection and encourage viewers to imagine the physical labour and social life of the colliery community.
Lonsdale’s title—And The Village Remains—frames the sculpture as both elegy and affirmation: it acknowledges the loss and disruption caused by pit closures while insisting on the persistence of community memory. The “Last Tub” motif evokes the final shift, the end of an era, and the ordinary objects that carry collective meaning long after industry has gone. The work therefore functions as a local memorial rather than a generic monument, rooting national industrial history in a specific village story.
The statue was commissioned through local initiatives and unveiled in late 2016, an event attended by hundreds of residents and covered in regional press. The project was driven by community groups and civic partners who sought a permanent tribute to South Hetton’s mining past and to the people whose labour shaped the place.
Since its installation the sculpture has become a familiar landmark at the Robin Todd Centre, used for remembrance events, school visits and as a backdrop for local storytelling. It sits near a mural and other heritage panels that together form a small outdoor narrative about the pit, daily life and the social fabric of the village. Local responses emphasise gratitude that the community’s history has been made visible and accessible.
The work is publicly accessible year‑round and rewards a short visit: the corten surface changes with light and weather, and nearby interpretive panels help place the sculpture in historical context. As part of Ray Lonsdale’s wider regional output, the piece contributes to a trail of steel sculptures across County Durham that link industrial memory with contemporary public art.