Life in the mine

Over 4,000 years of history lie in the seams of British mines, beginning all the way back in the New Stone Age. Large-scale coal mining in Britain developed during the Industrial Revolution, providing energy for industry and transportation in industrial areas from the 18th century to the 1950s.

This classic Pitkin guide provides a history of mining in Britain as well as of the hard lives of those who worked in them. Child labour was a normal part of Victorian life, so women and children were found in the dangerous deep pits until 1842, while male miners relied on safety lamps and canaries to avoid mining disasters.

Fascinating photographs accompany this guide’s history of these people’s lives, including their time outside of the mines, their homes and hobbies. Whole villages grew up around mines, with close comradeship and tightly knit mining communities emerging.

Here is the story of what that life was like for so many, up until British mining's decline in the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes a list of mines, museums and heritage centres to visit.