A REPLICA Edwardian miner’s cottage and traditional-style tea rooms is set to open at a museum in time for Easter.

Lancashire Mining Museum, formerly known as Astley Green Colliery Museum, will have a new visitor attraction which has a cottage with 1900s furniture, coal fires and restored period flooring.

The cottage and tea rooms has been built with support from Astley Hire, which supplied scaffolding equipment, staff and technical advice for free to support the museum project.

Chairman of the Red Rose Steam Society Trust, which holds the lease for the site, Trevor Barton MBE, said: “We do not want the museum to be just a place for artefacts and renovated engines.

“We want to broaden the interest and appeal and reach out to the wider community.

“We want to show them what the life of a miner was like.

“If they dig down the generations the likelihood is they will have a family member who worked directly in the mining industry.

“The industry drove everything we did in society.

“We do not want that significant part of our past airbrushed away and must make sure it is never forgotten.”

The new attractions, which will be located in Lancashire Mining Museum’s former exhibition building, will contribute to funding a project to save the historic headgear at the old Astley Green Colliery.

Mr Barton added: “The new attraction is a means by which we can look after people, make them feel welcome and earn some money.

“It is also an income stream that will hopefully make the museum sustainable in the long term.”

The Red Rose Steam Society Trust chairman also reserved praise for Astley Hire.

Managing director of Astley Hire, Stephen Dorricott, said: “It has been a pleasure to provide support and advice to such an important project.

“It is vital for the community and the county that we preserve the museum and headgear for generations to come.

“The revamped museum building with the tea rooms and miner’s cottage is going to be a fantastic asset and I am proud we have been able to play a small part in bringing the plans to fruition.

“Hopefully the campaign to save the headgear will continue to go from strength to strength and Trevor and the rest of the team can secure the funding they require to carry out the necessary repair works.”

Lancashire Mining Museum was also used as a filming location for an episode of BBC2 gangster crime series Peaky Blinders last June.