History

Coal mining in the North East

Coal once played a key part of life in the north east of England.
It was a dangerous profession and the working conditions were terrible, especially in 19^th century. At its peak in 1913 the great north coalfield employed 250,000 men who produced over 56 million tons of coal every year from 400 pits. Pit owners controlled many colliery houses and during the times of strike they employed ‘candymen’ to put the families of striking miners out on the street.

The conditions improved with nationalisation in 1947, but many miners continued to suffer from health problems. Many towns such as Seaham Harbour, Easington village and Ashington owed their existence to coal. Coal mining was the focus of the whole community. From the beginning of the 20^th century the coal industry was in decline.
There were many disasters such as the West Stanley pit disaster in 1909 where 160 men were killed. The families received minimal compensation. The 1984-85 miners’ strike was the most divisive confrontation of Margaret Thatcher’s 11 years in power. But it ended with humiliating defeat for the miners and a political triumph for Mrs Thatcher and the Conservatives. The most notorious clash between pickets and police came at the Orgreave Coking Plant near Rotherham in June 1984. There were about 5,000 on each side and brutal violence erupted. During the year long dispute, 11 people lost their lives. More than 11,000 arrests were made and more than 8,000 were charged, mostly for breach of the peace.

The miners’ leader was Arthur Scargill.