Changing Britain - Coal

Question 1

What was the nickname given to Scotland’s valuable coal?

Answer 1

“Black Diamonds”

Question 2

What are the early coal deposits found on beaches and shores called?

Answer 2

Outcrops

Question 3

What type of mines did early miners use to extract coal from exposed deposits?

Answer 3

Drift Mines

Question 4

What were the first mine shafts dug into the ground called?

Answer 4

Bell Pits

Question 5

Who were responsible for carrying coal to the surface in early mining operations?

Answer 5

Bearers

Question 6

By what year was coal production in Scotland approximately 40,000 tons?

Answer 6

1500

Question 7

What was the annual coal production in Scotland by the year 1700?

Answer 7

500,000 tons

Question 8

Who’s invention increased the demand for coal during the Industrial Revolution?

Answer 8

James Watt’s Steam Engine

Question 9

What is the title given to the leader of a mining team who cut coal from the coal face?

Answer 9

Hewer

Question 10

What were the baskets called that women and children used to carry coal?

Answer 10

Corves

Question 11

At what age did children begin working in mines as trappers?

Answer 11

4 years old

Question 12

How did the Government react to the findings of the Royal Commission?

Answer 12

As a direct result of the findings of the Royal Commission, the government passed the MINES ACT of 1842. This banned women and girls and boys under the age of ten from working underground.

Question 13

Who enforced the 1842 Mines Act?

Answer 13

To enforce the new law, the government appointed one INSPECTOR for the whole of Britain. He was not given the right to go down the pits until 1850.

Question 14

How did many pits react to the 1842 Mines Act?

Answer 14

Many pits ignored the new law and kept on using children whenever they could reasonably do so. Since compulsory registration of births only began in 1855, it was difficult to prove the age of a child anyway.

Question 15

What did the 1842 Mines Act do for men and boys over the age of 10?

Answer 15

The 1842 Mines Act completely ignored the working conditions of men and boys over the age of ten.

Question 16

What did the 1860 Mines Act do?

Answer 16

This forbade boys under 12 from going underground unless they could read and write.

Question 17

What did the Mines Act of 1909 do?

Answer 17

This Act introduced an eight-hour working day for underground workers.

Question 18

What did the 1872 Mines Act do?

Answer 18

This made it compulsory for the mine manager to hold a certificate of competency which was gained only after passing a national exam.

Question 19

What were most mining accidents caused by?

Answer 19

Roof Falls

Question 20

How did miners detect carbon monoxide in the mines?

Answer 20

For many years, miners carried CANARIES or MICE down the mines as they would show the effect of the gas quite quickly by collapsing.

Question 21

What was the job of the Hewer?

Answer 21

He would cut coal from the coal face.

Question 22

What was the job of the Bearers?

Answer 22

They would carry the coal from the face along narrow tunnels called galleries to the bottom of the shaft and then lifted up to the surface. In most cases, women and children did this job.

Question 23

What was the job of the Trapper?

Answer 23

Opening and closing the TRAP DOORS which ventilated the mine to allow the coal wagons to pass through.

Question 24

What was the youngest age of people working down in the Mines?

Answer 24

FOUR YEARS OLD working shifts between 12 and 18 hours long.

Question 25

How did Life expectancy in the mines compare to other jobs?

Answer 25

Miners could expect to live ten years less than men in other jobs.