Marie Gardiner

Growing up in Sunderland, Marie’s love of history developed from the tales told to her by her gran and granda from their time working in the glass factories and the docks rather than through school and text books. This was the inspiration for her Pocket Histories blog series which developed into her first book, ‘Sunderland Industrial Giant’. “I wanted to talk to people who were the last to work in those industries before that goes out of living memory. It was an entry point into making lots of contacts and friends which led to more work about how industrial history, and subsequent deindustrialisation, impacts communities”.

Having studied Film and Media at Sunderland University, she worked in radio and then moved into media. Alongside her partner Mark Thorburn, Marie established Lonely Tower Film and Media which combines her love of film and storytelling with her interests in North East history. “I’m yet to find any part of our history in the North East that doesn’t interest me or give me joy in some way to discover.” The combination of being both a writer and a photographer means Marie can really highlight and promote the local area. She regularly writes for national magazines and has an article coming out in the This England summer edition 2025 about Durham and why people should visit.

Her wish for young people growing up in coalfield areas today is that they have more opportunities within the creative sector and through Humanities. “I think Humanities and the creative industries are incredibly important. It’s not just the creative outputs but how you learn to reason, understand, and empathise with other people in certain situations and those subjects inform that. When they are not available in a local area, people go elsewhere and we end up chasing a lot of young intelligent creative people out of our local communities which is a real shame.”

Lonely Tower Film and Media have recently produced a documentary film called ‘Hollowed Ground, The People of the Durham Coalfield’, which has been fantastically well received. They are working on the follow up, ‘Defiant – County Durham, The Miners’ Strike and its Legacy’. Marie is also contributing to the Bishop Auckland Town Hall International Women’s Day exhibition this year with a soundscape of local voices to accompany portraits of inspiring women across County Durham. 

To find out more about Marie’s work, visit: http://www.mariegardiner.co.uk/