The Coal Industry

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The Coal Industry
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BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

• Before 1500 there was little use of coal as a
  fuel in Britain but in the 16th century some
  enterprising landowners began to exploit their
  land by mining
• The north east quickly took the lead and the
  phrase 'carrying coals to Newcastle' (meaning
  transporting a product from a place of scarcity
  to a place of surplus) dates from this period.
  Newcastle's location on the coast was ideal for
  transport - coal cost much more to transport than
  to mine.
• The domestic market in London grew rapidly.Coal
  from the North-East was known as Sea-Coal

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Bell Pits and Adit Mines

• After the surface seams had been worked the bell
  pit method was used when there was a fairly thick
  seam close to the ground, but it was wasteful in
  the amount of excavation needed for a relatively
  small amount of coal.
• The Pit and adit method involved digging
  horizontally along a seam of coal, often starting
  from an outcrop on a hillside, with vertical
  shafts inserted every so often. Uncut coal
  pillars acted as supports.
• Fires lit at the bottom of each alternate
  mineshaft (the upcast shaft) improved
  ventilation.
• Deep mining was rare before the Industrial
  Revolution and there was little demand for coal.

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Rising demand for Coal

• Demand for coal greatly increased as a result of
  a number of factors-
• Fuel for the boilers of the steam engine, itself
  used in a variety of roles. Also locomotives and
  steam ships
• As a dye in the textile industry.
• Growing domestic use by an increasing population,
  with peat less available.
• Conversion to coke for smelting in the blast
  furnaces.
• Coal gas, a bi-product, was used for street
  lighting in the 19th century.
• In furnaces making pottery, bricks etc

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Problems of Deep Mining

• As more coal was required pits had to go deeper.
  As a result a number of problems had to be
  overcome-
• Flooding Deep pits filled with water. There was
  no real practical solution to this until the
  invention of Thomas Newcomens Atmospheric Steam
  Pumping Engine
• Pit props were used to prevent cave-ins

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Ventilation

• The problem of firedamp, a lethal inflammable
  mixture of methane and butane was a very serious
  one.
• Another problem was chokedamp poisonous carbon
  monoxide
• One solution was to send down a miner with a
  naked flame and if he didn't get blown up, then
  you knew that it was safe
• Another was taking down a canary, whose sensitive
  lungs would lead to it fainting and indicate the
  existence of chokedamp
• Small boys called trappers were used to open
  and close doors to control the circulation of air

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The Miners Safety Lamp 1815

• Sir Humphry Davy, a famous scientist, invented a
  safe lamp in 1815
• At the same George Stephenson, a semi-literate
  coal worker from Newcastle also invented a safe
  lamp the Geordie Lamp
• When used properly these inventions stopped the
  risk of explosions
• In 1800 John Buddle devised the Exhaust Fan
  this helped to ventilated mines

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Moving Coal

• Moving coal from the seam to the surface was a
  very serious problem
• It was a task performed by women and girls, who
  dragged and carried the coal

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Steam Engines and Rails

• James Watts rotary Steam Engine helped to solve
  the problem of getting coal and miners to the
  surface
• Above and below ground iron railways were
  introduced to ease the movement of coal
• Pit ponies were used above and below ground

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CONCLUSIONS

• British Coal production increased from 2 million
  tons in 1700 to 216 million tons in 1899
• This was vital in allowing the Industrial
  Revolution to happen
• Coal mining remained a very difficult and
  dangerous job
• In 1842 a government report into coal mining
  shocked the nation
• As a result women and children were banned from
  working below ground

The cartoon Capital and Labour, Published in
1842