© bacuptimes.co.uk 2004
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.