Thread: Coal Pits
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Old 25-04-2016, 03:17 PM
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Vagabond Vagabond is offline
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Hi janwhin

That was a link I found on Google which I thought may be of interest, I confess though I`ve not done any research on this subject.

The following imho gives a fascinating glimpse of a miners life in general and his working conditions c 1860. This is taken from my copy of Murray`s Hand-book for Northumberland & Durham (1864). Difficult to know where to begin - there` s a lot of material, but I may as well begin at the mouth of the pit - at the Windlass, appropriately...

Original punctuation retained:

"At arriving at the mouth of the pit a large hole is seen, surmounted by a windlass for raising weights. Into its black abyss (dramatic affect) the colliers are sometimes let down by ropes, to which they cling with one or both legs inserted into a loop at its extremity; sometimes several couples are let down at once in this way, each man holding the rope by one hand, while with a stick in the other hand he shields himself from inconvenient oscillations. Many collieries have corves or baskets, in which the men are raised and lowered. Others are entered by means of a large iron tub which hold eight or ten persons; but the most modern arrangement consists of square iron cases, working in vertical grooves and capable of accommodating either men and boys, or tubs of coal. The ropes employed in this work are sometimes round, from five to six inches in circumference; sometimes the rope is flat, four or five inches wide, and formed of three or four strands, or of smaller ropes plaited side by side. In a few instances chains are used. Some of the ropes are of immense length, owing to the depth of the pits. The deepest pit is said to be at Monkswearmouth, which is of 292 fathoms or 1752 feet. Two ropes for this pit weigh about 12,000 lbs., and cost more than 500£."

There`s more...

Last edited by Vagabond; 25-04-2016 at 04:15 PM.
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