Mining
in the Black Country
by
Mick Pearson
The term "The Black Country" was
first used during the nineteenth century (first written
reference in 1868 as the title of the book "The Black
Country and its Green Borderland" written by Elihu
Burritt).
The Mineman's Bell
Many a truly gen'rous soul,
Men of iron, men of coal,
Men of metal bade me sound
Sweetly to all the hills around
(Written in November 1817 and one of
a number of verses intended to be cast upon the bells
of the new church at Dudley)
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Hell on Earth
When Satan stood on Brierley Hill
And far around him gazed
He said 'I never shall again
At Hells flames be amazed'
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Coal provided the fuel for smelting and
processing iron. It was also used to fuel the boilers.
Chainmaking also flourished and developed as mines needed
chains.
The iron ore in the region was the first
to run out, by as early as 1845 iron ore was being brought
in from North Staffordshire. From the 1850s the iron trade
began a slow decline, production moved to where there
were fresh supplies of ore. Coal production continued,
but it also slowed.
The region was also rich in clay, with high-quality
fireclay rated among the best in the world, extending
in a belt from Stourbridge through Brierley Hill and Pensnett
to Kingswinford. Clay plus coal led to the founding of
the world-renowned glass industry.
So far we have coal, iron ore and fireclay.
In order for the region to become the industrial heart
of Britain there must be limestone. Enter the Wren's Nest
Hill at Dudley, which is a limestone outcrop that, despite
centuries of quarrying, still contains vast reserves.
Dud Dudley (bastard son of the Lord Dudley) had experimented
with iron smelting using coal as a fuel. Dudley referred
in his "Metallum Martis" to the use of limestone
as a flux in the smelting of iron ore. Lime was also used
for agricultural purposes and the industry prospered until
early in the twentieth century.
(The Black Country - Harold Parsons)
- available
from The Black Country Society
What was it that made the Black Country
the industrial heartland of Britain? There is a simple
formula:
(Coal and iron ore) + (limestone + clay + sand) = Black
Country industrial development.
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Thomas Carlyle wrote in 1824
"A frightful scene ..... a dense cloud of pestilential
smoke hangs over it forever ....... and at night
the whole region burns like a volcano spitting fire
from a thousand tubes of brick. But oh the wretched
thousands of mortals who grind out their destiny
there!"
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Mining in the region had been carried out
at shallow depths for generations. Thirteenth century
documents refer to coal pits in Wednesbury, Halesowen,
Sedgley and elsewhere, only for domestic purposes for
at that time there was no other need for it.
There is still plenty of coal in the Black
Country, but it is impossible to mine using current methods.
One of the last working pits was on Burton Road in Upper
Gornal, working until about 1950.
Subsidence was a hazard associated with
mining, no-one living in the Black Country could be certain
to avoid. "Old Mrs G" would not leave her cottage
until it was quite tottering and the floor was so covered
with water that they had to lay down planks for the clergyman
when he went to see her. Finally the neighbours forcibly
removed her to save her from drowning."
(Pits and Furnaces - Mrs Alfred Payne
[1869])
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The Black Country pits saw many accidents and
were very unpredictable to work. They were also
very wet, about 40 tons of water pumped out for
every ton of coal mined.
(Mines Drainage
Committee Report 1920)
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Pay for a miner was very low, work was extremely hard
and conditions would not be tolerated today. Actual work
was very crude, the main tools being used were picks and
shovels, the coal went into 4-wheeled tubs, pulled to
the pit bottom by ponies. Lighting consisted of tallow
candles stuck in clay.
Each pit had at least one blacksmith, he had to sharpen
all the picks on a daily basis, shoe all the horses and
carry out any other smithing that was necessary.
Some explanation of the jobs and terms will be useful
to help those new to the industry, but interested because
they have mining ancestors. As many as I can find are
included here:
| Engine man |
tended the winding gear engines |
| Blacksmith |
looked after the iron work and horses
working in the pit |
| Deputy |
Sets props, lay tramroads and looks
to safety in the mine |
| Dialler |
surveyor |
| Pikeman |
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| Pit Bank |
The top of the pit |
| Banksman |
The man working at the pit bank to lands
the goods and the men |
| Band |
a layer of slate in the coal seam |
| Brakesman |
manages the winding engine |
| Craneman |
boy from 12-17 who manages the crane
by which the coal was raised and for keeping account
of the amount raised |
| Downcast |
shaft or part of shaft by which fresh
air entered the mine |
| Davy |
lamp used by miners |
| Hewer |
man who extracted the coal |
| Horse-keeper |
tends the horses in the pit |
| Lamp-keeper |
in charge of the Davy lamps and common
oil lamps |
| Overman |
3rd rank of mine officer, in charge
of everything underground - people, ventilation, keeps
accounts of everything happening underground. |
| Putter |
boy who pushes trams of coal from the
workings to the crane |
| Screen tapper |
attends to the screens (for screening
coal by size) |
| Shifter |
an underground labourer |
| Token-hanger |
boy of 9-12 years, responsible for
the tokens used to identify the hewer of a particular
basket of coal. |
| Trapper |
a boy, stationed at a door for guiding
air, responsible for ventilation |
| Trimmer |
spreads the coal in the wagons used
to transport the coal away from the pit |
| Viewer |
the agent, manager and head of the colliery
(usually had an under-viewer) |
| Way-Cleaner |
boy who clears dust from the tram rails,
usually aged 11-15 years. |
| Wasteman |
clears away stone falls and attends
to ventilation obstructions, has an assistant called
a shifter |
In carrying out my research I have come across many texts
that I have either acquired, or am looking for. If anyone
has any of the below material I would appreciate it if
you would contact me as I may be interested in purchasing
an item if it is for sale, or at least having sight of
it for research.
| Black Country Pit |
AJR Hickling |
| Through Thick and Thin, The History
of Johnson, Pool and Bloomer, 1844-1994 |
Sula Rayska |
| Pits and Furnaces or Life in the Black
Country |
Mrs Alfred Payne |
| The Blackcountryman Magazine |
Various |
Beginnings of Mining
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"A local collier married
a girl who had only one eye. After a few years the
collier fell to drinking and the wife to nagging,
so that the relationship deteriorated. Coming home
one night from the pub, the collier was met and
abused by his wife at the door of the house. Grabbing
the frying-pan, which was lying handy, he struck
his wife on the head with it, shouting 'the'er!
That'll larn yer. Now yo've got tew one eyes!'
From Black Country Humour -
Compiled by Winston Homer and Harold Parsons
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The making of nails had become an important industry
in the Black Country by the early seventeenth century.
Richard Foley had been one of the main names associated
with nailmaking; he has been credited with bringing the
secret of the slitting mill to the Black Country. Mining
during the seventeenth century developed alongside nailmaking,
both were dangerous and extremely hard occupations.
The 30-foot seam of 'think coal' was to make the Black
Country a prosperous area. This was the only resource
of its kind anywhere in the country. In places the coal
reached the surface and had been mined for centuries.
Main centres were Sedgley, Coseley, Bilston, Wednesbury,
Netherton and Halesowen.
Early methods were studied by a Doctor Plot, a chemist
from Oxford, who published his findings in his "Natural
History of Staffordshire".
"Much coal was mined by simply following the seam
into the hillside, often for up to 100 yards. Eventually
though, proper mining methods had to be used. The sheer
thickness of the seam caused problems and pillars of
coal had to be left to prevent cave-ins. The main coal
brought to the surface was in large lumps, these were
easier to sell than the slack and rubble, which was
mostly left underground."
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