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All the United Kingdom England Brownhills "Jigger" the Brownhills Miner

"Jigger" the Brownhills Miner

A giant gleaming memorial named for a coal miner who gave his life to the pits.

Brownhills, England

Added By
Alan Newman
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The stainless steel statue is in the middle of the roundabout, in the middle of Brownhills   Image capture Nov 2012
The stainless steel statue is in the middle of the roundabout, in the middle of Brownhills   Image capture Nov 2012
“Jigger” stands over 40 feet   John M
The statue was erected in 2006   Johnsculp
“Jigger” was the name chosen in competition, submitted by a miner’s great-grandson   J Thomas
Head to toe, “Jigger” is made from stainless steel   John M
Jack “Jigger” Taylor, for whom the statue was named, and family   Vintage photo (date unknown
Brownhills coal miners in 1904   Vintage postcard
The statue is hard to miss   Steve Fareham
  rbenn250 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Brownhills is in the West Midlands on the edge of an area known as “the Black Country,” an identity earned through the soot, smoke, and slag of its coal mines. In the middle of town, there is a stainless steel statue to commemorate the coal industry, a shiny colossus in the center of a roundabout.

The statue is called “Jigger” after Jack “Jigger” Taylor, who was killed in a mining disaster in 1951. He was from a multi-generational mining family, and was working in the pit at Walsall Wood when the roof suddenly collapsed. His nickname was submitted to a competition to christen the sculpture, by Taylor’s own great-grandson.

Census data shows that up to 80 percent of the Brownhills population worked in the mining industry at its peak (in the 19th century that included children as young as 11), but by the 1950s the 300-year mining history of the Black Country was gasping for air. It wasn’t long before all the pits would close, exhausted by the relentless pace of extraction.

“Jigger” came to Brownhills 50 years after the decline of the mines, intended as both a celebration of the industry that built the town, and to serve as a reminder of the toll it often took on its workers, on Brownhills, and the Black Country communities.

The piece was created in 2006 by artist John McKenna, a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, and at 40-odd feet tall, its size has drawn some comparisons to the better known “Angel of the North” in Gateshead, England.

Related Tags

Industrial Mines Statues Sculptures Memorials

Know Before You Go

Brownhills is in West Midlands in central England, about 12 miles north of Birmingham. The statue is in the large round-about in the center of town.

The best approach is from the A5 onto the A452. If approaching from the east take care not to get stung with a hefty toll on the M6 Toll. Signage is poor and it is easy to get onto it by accident.

Community Contributors

Added By

Dr Alan P Newman

Edited By

Blindcolour, rbenn250

  • Blindcolour
  • rbenn250

Published

October 21, 2016

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Sources
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/7178525.stm
  • http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/brownhills-colliery-tribute-is-named-after-55976
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownhills
"Jigger" the Brownhills Miner
Chester Road and High Street
Brownhills, England
United Kingdom
52.648397, -1.935573
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