The first miners were farmers who got the coal from the various outcrops situated on the valley hills. Over the years mines were opend and closed due to lack of money. Some of the longest established mines were Gambleside, Stacksteads, Old Meadows which was also known as Scarr End, and Grimebridge. By the early 1900’s a lot of the small mines were worked out. When the mines first started they didnt go very far into the hillside, these mines were called drift mines, only a fewof the valley mones had shafts amongst these were Greave Colliery, Tooter Hill, and Grimebridge.  To get the coal to the top of th emine the miners used wicker baskets called wiskets, which were filled and dragged out of the mines, as the distances increased to the surface from the mine face wooden sledges were used.  The tools used by the early miners were quite primitive, made of  hickory wood tipped with iron. The sledges were more often than not pulled by drawers, normally women and children wearing a leather belt around thier waist which had a metal ring in it a short chain attached from the belt to the sledge, the chain passing between the woman or childs legs. Later rails were laid for the sledges to run on then cast iron rails were introduced, these rails were still in use at Old Meadows pit  when it closed in 1969.  Eventually the drifts increased further into the mines and a better way to get the coal to the surface was needed, and so the mines were enlarged and ponies began to be used to get the tubs to the surface.  As with other industries the horse power was replaced by steam power which drove endless chain haulage. Before the collier filled his tub he would put on a peg his tally this was a metal tag with his number on it, and he was paid for each tally taken off at the pit top.