The Ashington Group of mainly mine workers evolved out of a 1934 art appreciation class led by Robert Lyon at the Workers Education Association (WEA). The group, who met weekly, documented for nearly fifty years the lives of ordinary people around Ashington and the mining communities of Northumberland. They held their first exhibition at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle in 1936 and attracted much pre-war interest. A book by William Feaver Pitmen Painters: The Ashington Group 1934-1984 revived interest in the group and was adapted into a play by Lee Hall. A permanent collection is on display at the Woodhorn Museum. Developed in association with Grant Waters, Art Detective Group Leader: South East England, East England and the Midlands.