Miners' Guildhall

Salt crystal, hacked rough from the mine below, hangs in a great chandelier over a single long table worn pale along both edges. Brass pit lamps fill niches down both walls, one lamp to each pit and no two alike, and every flame repeats itself in the crystal. Between the niches, heavy cloth hangings in faded reds, greens and ochres drop from dark rafters, and one of them is draped in black crepe. At the far end a carved oak lectern stands on a low dais beneath a tall arched window, with dust turning slowly in its light. Floorboards scrubbed grey with brush and sand run the length of the room. Half hidden behind the lectern's panelling sits an iron-bound chest older than the hall itself, and the air is cool with lamp oil and old oak.