Ambling back to the topic...
I think the best time is now because this is when I am exploring. I've been properly interested in mines since I got a copy of Eric Holland's field guide to Coniston copper mines after talking to him when he was finishing off the 'new' entrance timbering for Fleming's level. The book had just been published so that puts it at 1981. Between then and now assorted things rather got in the way (skintness, recumbent bike racing, working away from home...) so I didn't quite get round to going underground.
It would have been nice to have seen places before falls, ravages of time and collectors but on the other hand I have still managed to open up new ground.
I can't go back so I'm going to enjoy now! 😉

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I was under the impression that life expectancy for all males around 1900 was about 47, so not sure if mining was specifically a guarantor of an early death? Coal mining possibly, but not sure about generally. Lead miners seemed to do quite well on the whole as far as I can tell, and there are numerous reports of miners, in the Peak, certainly, who survived a lot longer than that. Working on one's side seemed to be a useful way of speeding up one's demise though!

There's a photo in an old mining book I saw recently of a coal miner from the mid-19th C showing the damage that could be caused - buckled legs, distorted ribcage etc. And he looked about 70, though was only in his mid-30's. One can only guess what state his lungs were in, but probably not good.

An interesting post in many ways.
Yes my point was about life expectancy in a sort of roundabout way. Regardless of the comforts of our modern age making us all 'soft' to a degree we are living longer with many of us staying fitter longer.

I have often pondered about working underground in the old days, and felt that much depended on the conditions. Yes lying on ones side for hours is not good, the body changes and adapts for better or for worse to ones work and ones lifestyle.

I think the slate mines could not have have been bad places, cool and dry winter and summer. But boring shot holes by hand before compressed air drills is something I really would not like to do.

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I've recently had to do some hand-chiselling of a calcite vein-wall on a shaft-repair job, and it is tedious, slow work to be sure - I was amazed how tough the crystals were, as the cleavage planes are endlessly rotated and randomized, so it's very difficult to get a weakness developed.

In one session we had to resort to the 'old way' - a hand-held long chisel held by one of us, whilst the other whacked it with a sledgehammer. Exhausting work. Mind you, we were also on ropes, so the odds were stacked against us!

There's a small version of the photo I mentioned on this page - second one down from the top. Seems he was from Stanley:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/coal-mining/background.shtml 

The 'bandy legs' were not uncommon, usually due to a poor diet whilst growing; though working underground and not getting sunlight to make vitamin D would not help.

Very few modern folk have any idea of the amount of work involved in older mining methods.
I worked for a few years in a small Staffordshire coal mine.
We had electric haulers on the main dips (1 in1 gradient), electric rotary hand held borers and that was it.
All tramming on the levels was by hand, all loading was by shovel, timbering, rail laying and everything else was manual.
The collier did all this work, mainly by himself. The deputy fired the shots and lent a hand with some jobs.
It takes a big heart to turn up every day and load 20 to 30 half ton tubs of coal and do all the other jobs too.
The men I worked with are mostly dead now, you could see they were physically wearing out as the years went by.
It is amazing though just how much work a man can do if he disregards his own wellbeing.

Isn't there a description of the local Lancashire miners in George Orwells 'Road To Wigan Pier' ?

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There is indeed, from memory I think he described them as being small in stature but with very muscular upper bodies.

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Problem with mining was poor air quality, since these guys were paid on piece work, the temptation was to work in these bad conditions, particularly after a blast. Not only was this air low in oxygen,but it was contaminate either by coal dust or fine silica.(The slate mines and northern lead mines especially for the latter)..
These small particles stuck in the small pathways in the lungs restricting the interchange of cxarbon dioxide/ oxygen, so eventually these poor guys could hardly.breathe at all and so dying prematurely.

The small mine (footral locally) Staffordshire China refers to above, was one that my uncle worked at as a deputy at the same time as StaffsC.
He reckoned you could always tell who'd been working in bad air as their faces were "pink like babies bottoms" - once they'd showered the muck off of course!

I later worked there as a volunteer (when it became a museum) & hand worked a down dip heading the old way. Undercutting, then using pick, hammer & wedge. I only did it for a few months, doing one 7hr stint, once a week - bloody knackering!!

Typical seam height 3 - 4 feet, undercut lying on your side. How the old guys did this for 5 1/2 days a week...
At least in latter times they could get a dispensation to fire off the solid, which helped a bit but they still did all the timbering filling & tramming themselves as SC says! Not to mention building packs, scaling the roof, track laying etc.( And often in low, wet & squalid conditions.)

🔗Personal-Album-1036-Image-98659[linkphoto]Personal-Album-1036-Image-98659[/linkphoto][/link]

Yours truly at start of said heading. (That gut wouldn't have lasted long doing it every day!!)
Note the usual practice was to work up dip, not down whenever possible, so gravity did some of the work.



🔗Personal-Album-1036-Image-98660[linkphoto]Personal-Album-1036-Image-98660[/linkphoto][/link]

This is the same heading a couple of stints later, note FSL & pick/short sledge handles for scale.
Also note that this place at around 1 in 3, was not as steer as some places in the pit (ie. the 1 in 1 mentioned by SC).

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Isn't there a description of the local Lancashire miners in George Orwells 'Road To Wigan Pier' ?

Having dug my copy out, chapters 2 and 3 were a description of the mines, the miners and their way of life.

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Isn't there a description of the local Lancashire miners in George Orwells 'Road To Wigan Pier' ?

Having dug my copy out, chapters 2 and 3 were a description of the mines, the miners and their way of life.

Thanks for that AR, good to know my memory has not totally deserted me!:thumbsup:

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There is indeed, from memory I think he described them as being small in stature but with very muscular upper bodies.

Are you sure this isn't a quote from Snow White, giving a statement to the police?