Somerset Miners Welfare Trust
A charity preserving Somerset's coal mining heritage. We built them an easy-to-use, searchable archive of local history and host it free of charge, for good.
Free
Lifetime Hosting
4
Content Types
Searchable
History Archive
Preserving Somerset's Mining Heritage
The Somerset Miners Welfare Trust is a charity dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of coal mining in Somerset. Their work keeps the stories of the region's miners alive, teaching local people about their lives and the mark mining left on the area.
They came to us needing a website that would give that history the exposure it deserves and show the ongoing work of the trust. The trustees knew they had a wealth of material but were not sure how to structure it, so part of our job was helping shape the site itself, not just build it.
Structure for a Rich Archive
The trust holds a substantial archive, and it needed organising into clear, logical sections that anyone could navigate, including an older audience who simply want to find and read about the history. Ease of use came first at every turn.
We built the site on WordPress with custom post types and Advanced Custom Fields, giving the trust a flexible, manageable system. Four custom content types, News & History, Radio Programme, Metal Miners and Member Events, give every kind of material its proper place.
Find Anything, Fast
With decades of history to explore, search and navigation mattered enormously. We built a custom filtering system that lets visitors sort the news and history content by year and content type, or search it directly, so the right story is only ever a couple of clicks away.
Bringing the History to Life
A heritage archive is more than text. We integrated audio streaming so visitors can listen to recordings of radio programmes directly on the site, and we added the ability for visitors to submit their own contributions, turning the archive into something the community helps to build. The trust can also post their own group events to keep members involved.
Hosted Free, For Good
This is a community project run by a charity, so we committed to hosting the website free of charge, in perpetuity. The Somerset Miners Welfare Trust never has to worry about the archive disappearing: it will stay online and accessible for as long as it is needed.
A Home for Somerset's Mining Story
The result is a clear, welcoming and genuinely useful home for Somerset's mining heritage. Easy for the trust to manage, easy for the public to explore, and built to preserve these stories for the generations who come next.