Archaeological Building Recording at MRS Training and Rescue Station

Photographic, illustrated and descriptive recording of the rescue station alongside phasing and historic research. The introduction of the Mines Accidents (Rescue and Aid) Act in 1910 saw the construction of new stations to accommodate the need for the service, with the station at Houghton-le-Spring built in 1912, opening in 1913 as a fire rescue station. At this point, the galleries were not built, instead being added to the building sometime between 1920 and 1939, with the 1946 Ordnance Survey showing the above-ground galleries block in place. In 1985-86, a scheme of alteration and extensions took place, including the excavation of the modern 'pit face' galleries as well as the addition of the simulated drift mine entrance. The buildings as we see them now are a product of this scheme of modernisation and extension, with few internal features retained within the main buildings, though the training galleries remain a focus of interest.