Here are some web sites that I have found interesting or useful:
My Friends:
Black Cat Design – Kate, my web site designer.
Coal Mining:
British Mining Database – a central point to find information about mines throughout the UK and Ireland. The information is primarily historical.
Bevin Boys – From December 1943 until the end of the war, 48,000 Bevin Boys were directed to work in the coal mines. Bevin Boys represented 10% of male conscripts aged between 18 and 25 during the Second World War and were chosen by ballot to serve in the mining industry rather than in the armed services.
Children in the Mines – The Royal Commission reports of 1842.
Coal Mining History Resource Centre – lots of information.
Conditions in the Mines – Miners had to work long hours in the dark and wet with a number of hazards to deal with which were not to be found in many other workplaces. Find out more here.
A Database of Mining Deaths in the UK – Over 90,000 names of people who died or suffered injury in the mines of Great Britain from 1850 to 1914.
Mines Rescue UK – Fascinating and often moving, this site charts the history of the Mines Rescue Teams involved in many tragic disasters.
Miners’ Advice – Online HQ of the National Union of Mineworkers.
Mining Europe – Information and photographs about coal mining throughout Europe.
Mining for Coal in Victorian Ystradgynlais – Ystradgynlais and the Upper Swansea Valley, was the scene of great industrial development. This web site is part of the Powys Digital History Project.
Mining History Information Pages – Details of events, research and work in progress in the field of mining history and archaeology.
Mining History Network – online resource and good starting point for those wishing to study and discuss mining.
Modern History Sourcebook: Women Miners in the English Coal Pits – From Great Britain, Parliamentary Papers, 1842. Absolutely fascinating.
National Coalmining Museum for England – Caphouse Colliery is on the western edge of the Yorkshire coalfield, where mining has been carried out for centuries. In 1988 the Yorkshire Mining Museum opened at Caphouse. The Museum was granted National status in 1995.
Welsh Coal Mines – excellent web site which catalogues all the mines within the Welsh Coalfields. Full of detailed information and photographs.
Wales:
Bedwas Navigation Colliery, Monmouthshire, South Wales – about one of what were hundreds of collieries comprising the South Wales Coal Mining Industry at its peak in the early 20th Century.
Big Pit National Mining Museum, Blaenafon, Torfaen – Big Pit is a real colliery. It was the place of work for hundreds of men, women and children for over 200 years – a daily struggle to extract that precious mineral that stoked the furnaces and lit the household fires of the world.
CADW – Cadw’s mission is to protect, conserve, and to promote an appreciation of the built heritage of Wales.
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum – a museum housed in the original buildings of the former Cefn Coed Colliery.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales – has a national role in the management of the
archaeological, built and maritime heritage of Wales.
Royal Commission Report 1842 – South Wales’ child coal workers.
South Wales Coalfield Collection – Contains records of trade unions, miners’ institutes, co-operative societies, and individuals connected with the mining community.
My Partners:
I won a Commedia Award which enabled me to put my photographic archive online. Thanks Commedia! This website was made with a grant from the Commedia Millennium Awards. The Commedia Millennium Awards operates in partnership with local community media organisations to give individuals opportunities to make their own productions for radio, television and the internet. The scheme is an initiative of the Community Media Association with funding from the Millennium Commission.
