Experiences of Coal
A recent post on Kirkby Living Memory Face book Group asked about people’s experiences of using coal. There is a lot relevant to this question in my family’s diaries. However, although I have written a little about Kirkby as a coal-mining community, see Chapter 5, there is a lot more relevant material that I have not yet collated. So, I thought I would do that here.
Dominated by Coal
All the time my family lived in Kirkby, that is until the early sixties, Kirkby was a mining town, and the town was dominated by coal. Many people were employed as miners and Summit Colliery was a key feature of the Kirkby landscape, see Chapter 5. My paternal grandfather, Charlie Drew, was a coal miner and my father, Royle Drew, grew up in a colliery row, Alexandra Street.
Subsidence
One issue for many houses in Kirkby, and other mining areas, is that they are prone to subsidence. Where subsidence caused damage to properties, it was possible to get remedial work done by, or compensation from, the Coal Board, see Chapters 67 and 70.
Boots for Miners
Although my maternal grandfather was a shoe maker and repairer, and not a miner, much of his work related to mining, that is making and repairing boots for miners. For example, at the time of the first world war, grandad’s brother-in-law, Joe Dovey, was said to make 30 pairs of pit boots per week. Because coal was critical to the national war effort, the family argued that Joe’s work was of national importance when he appeared before a Tribunal, in July 1917, concerning exemption from military service, see Chapter 10.
A Risky Business
While I was aware of the effects of mining on miners’ health and that major disasters had occurred periodically, I was not aware that men were regularly injured and killed in the mines including at Summit Colliery. For example, between 1896 and 1969, there were more than 100 deaths at Summit alone.
In September 1951, my grandfather served as a juror in an inquest, held at the council offices, into the death of a young man from Sutton, aged 19, who had been killed at Summit colliery. His name was Terence Ellis. He died when the roof fell in.
An article about the inquest in the Nottingham Evening Post noted that the jury returned a verdict of accidental death. Terence Ellis had only been working at the colliery for six months when the accident happened. Harold Richardson, who had been working with Ellis to raise the roof, described what happened. During the morning, he had been working in the same spot and he thought the roof seemed safe. He was about seven feet from Ellis when the roof fell in. Richardson noted that there had been no warning. The news article noted that, in the previous two months, there had been three fatal and two serious accidents at Summit, see Chapter 59.
Right – extract from grandad’s diary for 18 September 1951
Strikes and Shortages
Grandad often commented in his diary if there were miners’ strikes and/or shortages of coal. For example, in 1919, there were several regional miners’ strikes starting in Nottinghamshire in January protesting against the “butty” subcontracting system, see Chapter 26. In 1921, there was a national miners’ strike and, in 1926, a general strike when miners refused to accept a pay reduction. Even after the general strike ended, the miners continued with their strike, see Chapter 25.
I was a little surprised to discover that there had been miners’ strikes during the second world war, see Chapter 35. In 1951, mum noted that the business college she was attending in Mansfield was closed for an entire week because of a shortage of coal, see Chapter 55. While I think I had known that coal had been rationed during the second world war, I was surprised to find out from the diaries that household coal rationing only ended in 1958, see Chapter 73. In January 1974, grandad referred to a coal crisis and noted that shops and businesses could only use electricity three days per week. Grandad’s main concern was that while hospitals were exempted, churches and chapels were not, see Chapter 107.
Spoil Tips
The original post, that prompted this post noted that the old spoil tips from Summit Colliery were once “giant grey mountains” although they had been landscaped into green spaces where people go for walks without realising they are standing on “a century’s worth of coal waste“. Similar experiences are common in other parts of the country. One example that mum encountered, after we had moved away from Kirkby, was when she was on holiday in the Wye Valley and she went to New Fancy Viewpoint, see Chapter 122.
Widespread Use
Coal use was extremely widespread. It was not only used to heat houses but. it was used in schools, chapels and churches, and for transportation. For example, in September 1956, grandad bought a coal stove for his shop from Pearson’s in Nottingham for £19. This was delivered two days later, see Chapter 68.
While use of coal in stem railway engines is well-known, coal was also used to power ships at the time of the first world war. For example, the battleship HMS Bulwark was taking on coal in November 1914 when it was ripped apart by an explosion which killed almost 800 officers and men, see Chapter 6.
Also. prior to the availability of natural gas, town gas was made by burning coal, a process that was said to have made a new world, see Chapter 102.
Getting Coal
Coal Delivery
Households needed to obtain coal and, as a result, there were a number of coal delivery firms established in Kirkby and elsewhere. For example, from 1972, the Wrights operated such a firm from a house on Diamond Avenue that had been owned by the Parkin family, see Chapter 24. Another family that delivered coal was the Machins who also ran an undertakers business.
Coal Lorries
Coal lorries were a common feature on roads in and around Kirkby and elsewhere. In April 1958, grandad was driving to Sutton in Ashfield via Kirkby Cross. He had grandma in the car along with Arthur and Ella Lofthouse, who were visiting for the week. At Kirkby Cross, the car was struck at the front by a coal lorry. Mum noted that no-one was hurt but the car was badly damaged, see Chapter 63.
Cost of Coal
Sometimes, mum or grandad noted the cost of coal in their diaries. For example, in October 1958, mum noted buying coal for £2. The following year, in August 1959, grandad noted that Machin brought them a ton of coal. Grandad noted that it was grade 3, was bagged and cost £6 11 0, see Chapter 68. The same amount and type of coal was delivered for the same price in May 1960.
Also in 1960, in March, grandad noted having five bags of coal nuts delivered which I think refers to the size and shape of the coal. These cost £1 9 7. In September 1960, grandad referred to mum getting a ton of coal for £10. Then, in October 1960, grandad noted that Machins delivered them half a ton of coal for £3 11 0.
In April 1962, grandad noted that Henry picked up their coal and paid fifty shillings for it. I am not entirely sure who Henry was but presumably grandma and grandad were selling their coal because they had transitioned to gas.
Concessionary Coal
In the late fifties, after they were married, mum and dad did not always buy coal. Because my dad’s father was a miner, he got concessionary coal so, sometimes, my parents collected coal from dad’s parents, see Chapter 63.
Coal Shoot
In March 1940, grandad made a coal shoot for his workshop, see Chapter 30. I confess to not knowing what this was. Apparently, a coal shoot (or chute) is a way of getting coal from outside a building to where it is stored, e.g. in a basement.
Storing Coal
Most houses had a coal house and/or coal bunker in which to store their coal. While these terms might have been used somewhat interchangeably, the term coal house implied a room or shed used for coal storage whereas a coal bunker might imply a smaller box.
Coal Houses
During the first world war, grandad noted that he used to store his bike in the family coal house in winter. He made a pulley system which allowed him to lift the bike up within the coal house, see Chapter 4. Later, the house grandma and grandad had in Welbeck Street had a “cabin” which included a workshop and a coal house, see Chapter 46. In 1957, after their neighbour Annie Holmes had moved away, grandma and grandad had some work done by Howletts. Grandad noted that he helped them fix the coal house, see Chapter 67.
Wooden Coal Houses
While I think coal houses were usually brick structures, they could be wooden. For example, in September 1957, grandad bought a wooden coal house for £10 plus £3 5 0 for boards for lining, see Chapter 67.
Outside Mining Areas
Even outside mining areas, houses had coal houses. So, for example, when we moved into our first house in Norwich in 1960, it had a coal house. When we moved in, one of the jobs mum noted needing doing was demolishing the old coal house, see Chapter 76. One reason mum may have wanted to do this was because she found, and killed, a number of mice there. However, plans must have changed as, in 1962, grandad cleaned out the coal house converting it into a shed, see Chapter 85. Later, he put a drainpipe on it, see Chapter 94.
The Methodist chapel in Drayton must have had one or more coal houses. In 1968, grandad noted that he salvaged some pieces of wood from the chapel’s old coal shed, see Chapter 90. However, it could not have been completely demolished as also, later that year, he repaired the lock on the old coal house at the chapel, see Chapter 94. It was still in existence in the early seventies as grandad and his friend, Arthur Elsegood, worked on the old coal house door which would not open, see Chapter 107.
Coal Bunkers
Grandad also sometimes referred to coal bunkers. For example, in the early sixties, while still in Kirkby, grandad helped his neighbour Arthur Booth, enlarge his coal bunker, see Chapter 85. Later, in 1969, grandad cleaned out two coal bunkers for one neighbour, Barbara Carpenter, see Chapter 94. Later still, in August 1970, grandad helped his other neighbour, Ron Douglas, to pull his coal bunker to pieces. Apparently, he had sold it for 46 shillings, see Chapter 109.
Coal Scuttles/Hods
Coal scuttles or coal hods were used to transfer coal to an indoor stove or fire. In 1960, when we left Kirkby, dad was given some money as a leaving gift from the Nottingham branch of the Norwich Union. One of the things mum bought with this money was a coal hod, see Chapter 84.
Coal Gloves
Coal gloves are heavy-duty heat-resistant gloves used for handling hot materials. Mum noted making coal gloves, see Chapter 49, and selling them at church bazaars, see Chapter 54.
Coal Brickettes
On one occasion, in February 1970, grandad used the fire to make some small brickettes for Barbara Carpenter from some coal riddlings. By 4 March 1970, he noted that he made 194 brickettes for Barbara, see Chapter 109.
Problems with Coal
While people may today be nostalgic about heating their homes with coal, at the time, it was seen as dirty and labour-intensive. There were also risks of injury. For example, in 1956, mum got a piece of coal dust in her eye and had to go to the Eye Infirmary, see Chapter 65.
Some of these issues were targeted in advertising for gas, particularly at the time of the transition to North Sea gas, see Chapter 102.
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