Lego mining banners to be created as part of Gala celebrations

Miners' banners are set to be immortalised in Lego as part of a festival at Durham Cathedral this month.
One of the Lego miners' banners.One of the Lego miners' banners.
One of the Lego miners' banners.

To celebrate the third anniversary of Durham Cathedral in Lego, Durham Cathedral is looking to recreate the famous Miners’ Festival Service in the form of the children's toys.

The Lego Miners’ Festival Service will include mini Miners’ Banners, band members, and the all-important congregation which throngs into the Cathedral each year for this annual celebration of County Durham’s mining tradition.

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It will be created for the real Miners’ Festival Service on Saturday, Jul 9y, in celebration of the third birthday of Durham Cathedral in Lego on Monday, July 11.

Members of the public are invited to contribute towards the recreation of the Miners’ Festival Service by sponsoring a Lego mini-figure available at the Lego model in the Cathedral for £10.

Alternatively, community groups have the opportunity to sponsor two Lego mini-figures and a Lego banner, expertly recreated by Durham Cathedral’s Broderers, for £100; or a Lego banner, two mini-figures and four band members for £200.

The cathedral will be creating four banners for the Miner’s Festival Service this year, with the possibility of creating more banners to the Lego model in the future.

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Those interested in sponsoring a banner should contact Sophia Stovall on 0191 374 4055 or [email protected]

The recreation of the Miners’ Festival Service represents the final stage of the Durham Cathedral in Lego fund-raising campaign, which began on July 11, 2013, and will conclude on July 25 this year.

Gaye Kirby, head of development at Durham Cathedral, said: "Since Durham Cathedral in Lego was launched in July 2013, our aim has been to recreate the Miners’ Festival Service in Lego.

"This annual service is a vibrant and joyful celebration of County Durham’s mining tradition, and is incredibly important to both the Cathedral and the local community.

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"Durham Cathedral in LEGO is also a community project, with thousands of people adding bricks to the model to show their support for Durham Cathedral and Open Treasure.

"The miners’ banners produced by the Cathedral’s Broderers are exquisite, and we can’t wait to see the Miners’ Festival Service recreated in LEGO.

"We encourage people to take advantage of this final opportunity to support Durham Cathedral in LEGO, and help us complete the model before 25 July."

When complete, Durham Cathedral in Lego will measure 3.84 metres in length, 1.53 metres wide and 1.7 metres in height with 300,000 bricks.

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There are still 24,000 bricks to add to the model, with less than four weeks to go until the opening of Open Treasure.

Members of the public can support the project by adding a brick to the model in person at the Cathedral for just £1, texting ‘LEGO 16 £2’ to 70070 or donating online at www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/donate