Lest We Forget - The Miners - Kibblesworth Traditional Cache
Us 4 and Jess: Removed and Archived.
Lest We Forget - The Miners - Kibblesworth
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A series of 20 caches all set in County Durham Mining villages, all of the caches are black magnetic nanos, initials only please, to save space on the log book.
Kibblesworth Colliery
Opened in 1842 - Closed 4th October 1974.
A History Lesson.
Coal was once the lifeblood of industry and a key part of life in the North East of England. Coal was king, and it fuelled industries like steel and heavy engineering. At its peak in 1913, the Great North Coalfield employed almost ¼ million men, producing over 56 million tons of coal every year from about 400 pits. The North East produced a quarter of Britain's coal in 1913.
A Dangerous Profession.
Mining was a dangerous profession with terrible working conditions especially in the early 19th century. In the early days the miners used hand picks, and conditions were cramped with little health and safety provision. There were hazards and dangers everywhere from explosions, fires, and roof falls, to suffocating gases and flooding. Miners laboured in cramped conditions. There were many disasters such as the West Stanley pit disaster in 1909 in which
160 men were killed. The whole mine shook from two devastating blasts caused by illegal lamps. The funerals of the victims was terrible with many of the men being buried in trenches. 59 of the victims were under 20 years of age. Their families received minimal compensation. During the 1920s there were several miners' strikes. In 1926 the miners were starved back to work. Pit owners controlled many of the colliery houses and during times of strike they employed 'candymen' to put the families of striking miners out onto the streets. Conditions improved with nationalisation in 1947, but many miners continued to suffer from health problems such as lung conditions.
Pit Villages.
Engine houses and their wheels dominated the skylines of the pit villages. The communities were close-knit with their own social clubs, community facilities and brass bands. A common sight were the pit cottages. Pits were often isolated, and the homes were built near them. A typical collier's cottage consisted of two to four rooms and sometimes had a pitman's garden nearby. Coal was moved from the pithead by railway. Many collieries had their own systems with lines connecting to the main rail network.
Miners at play.
The miners' galas were a great social occasion, and a chance for the workers to enjoy a day out with their families. They met everyone from the surrounding villages, many of whom they only saw once a year. The biggest of all was the Durham Miners' Gala which has become a national institution, and is still an important date in the North's calendar.
Looking Back.
Today the coal mining industry is extinct in the North East with no pits producing what was once called 'the black diamond'.
Very sobering!!
Some of the local villages have mining memorials, if they have the cache will be close by, if they have not the cache will be placed near the local church, where miners will have been buried. Lets no forget our mining past, many of us are in the mining villages we are in today because our
fathers/grandfathers/great grandfathers were miners. I hope you enjoy this series and read some of the links provided to some of the local collieries, the information/history is very interesting.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
jurry fhccbeg - zntargvp
Treasures
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