Victorian mines By D.A

Coal Mines Steam was the number one source of energy during Victorian times. Steam powered everything from trains and steamships to factories that used steam to power their machines. In order to make steam you must have water and heat. To provide heat they had to burn coal, and lots of it. Therefore coal mines used a large part of the Victorian Child Labour force in the 1800’s. The thought of using children for working the coal mines was very attractive to mining companies. Children were much smaller, enabling them to manoeuvre in tight spaces and they demanded a lot less pay.

Why is it important? Coal mining was an important industry. Heston Colliery, near Sunderland, had one of the world's first private steam railways, opened in 1822. In Victorian times, energy came from water-power (waterwheels), from horses and above all from burning coal. Coal was as important to Victorians as oil is to us today. Steam engines burned coal. Steam engines drove factory machines, locomotives (a type of train) pulling trains and steamships. All this coal had to be dug from coal mines. Britain had a lot of coal, deep in rocks beneath the ground.

What were they like? Most coal was dug from deep mines. A long vertical shaft was dug down from the surface. Leading off from it were side tunnels. Miners rode in a lift, worked by a steam engine. In the tunnels, they hacked at the coal with picks and shovels. Coal mines were dark, dirty and dangerous. The only light came from candles and oil lamps. Gas in the mine could choke miners, or explode. Tunnels could flood or collapse. Accidents killed many miners.

Carts with lots of coal could be very hard to push/pull Thrusters Trapper Workers could not afford clothes. It was rare to have a cart with wheels Or with a candle

problems Some children developed permanent spine deformation from having to walk stooped over constantly. Explosions or cave-ins were an ever-present fear. Due to the lack of safety awareness in the mines and all of Victorian child labour for that matter, Death was a constant and ever-present danger. Due to a lack of proper ventilation, coal dust was very thick in the air. Considering that Victorian Children would work from 12 to 18 hours a day it is easy to see how respiratory problems could arise. There was constant noise, and rat infestation was very common in the mines.

The Mine act Results of the act No female was to be employed underground. No boy under 10 years old was to be employed underground. Parish apprentices between the ages of 10 and 18 could continue to work in the mines. At the beginning of the 19th century methods of coal extraction were primitive and the workforce, men, women and children, laboured in dangerous conditions. In 1841 about 216,000 people were employed in the mines. Women and children worked underground for 11 or 12 hours a day for smaller wages than men. The public became aware of conditions in the country's collieries in 1838 after an accident at Huskar Colliery in Silkstone, near Barnsley. A stream overflowed into the ventilation drift after violent thunderstorms causing the death of 26 children; 11 girls aged from 8 to 16 and 15 boys between 9 and 12 years of age. The disaster came to the attention of Queen Victoria who ordered an inquiry. Lord Ashley headed the royal commission of inquiry which investigated the conditions of workers especially children in the coal mines in 1840. Commissioners visited collieries and mining communities gathering information sometimes against the mine owners' wishes. The report, illustrated by engraved illustrations and the personal accounts of mineworkers was published in May 1842. Victorian society was shocked to discover that children, as young as five or six worked as trappers, opening and shutting ventilation doors down the mine before becoming hurriers, pushing & pulling coal tubs and corfs. Lord Ashley deliberately appealed to Victorian prudery, focussing on girls and women wearing trousers and working bare breasted in the presence of boys and men which "made girls unsuitable for marriage and unfit to be mothers". Such an affront to Victorian morality ensured the bill was passed.

Young children would work down in the mines, some for up to 12 hours a day with few breaks and no fresh air: trappers opened and closed wooden doors to let air through the tunnels; drawers dragged heavy carts of coal along the tunnels with heavy chains around their waists.

timeline 1781 James Watt’s rotary steam engine invented, this could be used to lower miners down a shaft or to pump water out of a mine. 1794 James Buddle’s exhaust pump was invented. This could draw stale air out of a mine. 1815 Sir Humphrey Davy invented the miners’ safety lamp. 1833 Factory Act, this banned children from working in textile factories under the age of nine. From nine to thirteen they were limited to nine hours a day and 48 hours a week. 1836 Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages, this enabled factory inspectors to check the ages of children working in factories (only applicable in England and Wales). 1842 Publication of the ‘First Report of the Children’s Employment Commissioners: Mines and Collieries’, which had been prepared by Lord Ashley (later Lord Shaftesbury). 1842 Mines Act, this banned the employment underground of boys under the age of ten and all women and girls. No one under the age of fifteen was to be in charge of machinery. 1844 Factory Act, this classed women as young persons under the age of eighteen and limited the hours of both groups to twelve on weekdays and nine on Saturdays. 1847 The Ten Hour Act, this cut the hours of women and the under-eighteens to ten a day and 58 a week. 1850 The Ten Hour Act, this set the working day for all workers at ten and a half hours. 1867 Factory Act, the legislation was extended to all workshops with more than 50 workers.

In 1838, a freak accident occurred at Huskar Colliery in Silkstone, near Barnsley, when a stream overflowed into the ventilation shaft after violent thunderstorms. The flood caused the death of 26 children, 11 girls aged from 8 to 16 and 15 boys between 9 and 12 years of age.

trappers Compared with other jobs, working underground in a coal mine was relatively well paid. The younger children often worked as trappers, which means that they operated the doors underground. These doors directed the fresh air through the mine, so although the job was an easy one it was also vital for the miners' safety. Trappers often sat in a hole hollowed out for them and held in their hands a string which was attached to the door. When they heard the coal wagons coming they had to open the door by pulling the string. They were mostly in the dark because candles were too expensive to be used regularly. This was one of the simplest jobs down the mine and did not require much strength, but it was also one of the loneliest jobs and the place where the child sat was often damp and draughty. It must have been like spending twelve hours a day in a dungeon. The children never saw the daylight, except on Sunday. Until 1842, one of the most common jobs for women and children working underground was either as a hurrier or thruster. A hurrier would pull the loaded coal tubs or wagons from the coal face to the bottom of the shaft, while the thruster would push from behind. They would have little time for rest and had to live with the constant fear of explosions or roof-falls. Long hours and poor working conditions affected people's health and ability to work.

Quiz In just 40 years the amount of coal dug from British mines rose from 17 million tons (1830) to over 121 million tons (1870). True/false At England's National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield, Yorkshire, visitors can go down ___ metres underground. On 4 August 1842, a law was passed that stopped women and children under ___ years from working underground in mines in Britain. The getter mined the coal. True/false When was The Husker Pit Disaster,1828,1838 or 1848?

Answers: 1. true 2. 140 3. 10 4. false 5. 1838

How much we ruled A lot! Yes, during that time Britain covered over 1/4 of the world! Canada, Egypt, Africa, India and Australia were all in The British Empire!

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