Ok, more about corves later; in the meantime, this about the miners themselves.
"The pitmen are a distinct race. They live in villages, and they worship in churches of their own, and they seldom intermarry with their agricultural neighbours. Even their language, their songs, and their amusements are peculiar. A pitman`s village usually consists of one-storied houses, built in pairs, and placed in rows, often with small gardens in front. These contain good, often expensive furniture, and are seldom considered complete without a handsome four-post bedstead with chinz hangings, a mahogany chest of draws, and an eight day clock. The interiors are remarkable for their neatness and cleanliness: each pitman submits to an ample ablution on his return home, and in every respect they are far more cleanly than the rest of the labouring population..."
"The men are usually diminutive, and are often bent and deformed from the stooping position to which their work constrains them. Weak eyes and premature blindness are also frequently caused from the darkness in which they work, followed by the sudden return to the light of day. On Sundays or holidays they are characterised by the gayness of their dress, the most brilliant waistcoat patterns being always the favourites, and by the flowers (roses, dahlias, or sunflowers) stuck jauntily in their buttonholes. The pitman never feels hungry while at work, but on coming out he feels ravenous and takes food as soon as he enters his cottage. Many of the fore-shift men (the night workers) take crowdy which is a compound of oatmeal, hot water, and butter; others take coffee or tea, with bread and butter, and some take dinner. The back-shift men (day workers) always take dinner when they come home. This usually consists of roast beef or mutton and potatoes with a boiled suet dumpling or pudding. They eat their pudding first and beef or mutton after. They take animal food once a day only, and, considering the great muscular exertion necessary in hewing, the amount of mutton they eat is very moderate. They seldom or never drink beer at dinner. Most smoke a pipe. and then they wash..."
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