A NEW plinth has been added and a memorial cleaned up to mark a mining disaster which ‘changed the course of history’ when 26 children lost their lives.

On July 4, 1838, a torrential downpour during a thunderstorm caused the stream running through Nabs Wood, Silkstone Common, to turn into a raging torrent, which poured into the bottom of the ‘dayhole’ pit at House Carr Lane, trapping and drowning the youngsters who were aged between seven and 17.

There were several such ‘dayholes’ in the area, with deep mines burrowed into the ground in later years.

The disaster shocked the nation, including the young Queen Victoria, and led to a bill being put through Parliament in 1842 by Lord Ashley - later Lord Shaftesbury - which prevented women and children from working down mines.

The memorial area at Nabs Wood had been covered in overgrown weeds and was in disrepair - that was until local resident Stewart Walton took it upon himself to ensure that disaster did not become forgotten.

He cleaned up the area and worked alongside The Woodland Trust to install a new plinth and plaque to commemorate the disaster - 150 years later.

It was officially unveiled last week at a special event.

Stewart said: “Originally I was doing an audit for the local parish council on equipment that needed repair.

“It was so overgrown that you couldn’t see the memorial.

“The memorial has a girl and boy knelt down as if they were digging for coal but these were nearly invisible due to the overgrowth.

“I couldn’t believe that an area that changed history was in a state of disrepair like it was.

“Everyone’s commented about how it looks.

“I’ve done repairs on the benches all the way down.”