Death on the Warwickshire Coalfield

Death on the Warwickshire Coalfield: an examination of the contribution of miners, coalowners and the State to the decline in mining fatalities in the British coal industry in the period of expansion 1840 to 1913. Thomas Anney MA BSc (Econ) BEd A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Wolverhampton April 2013 This work or any part thereof has not previously been presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or for any other purpose (unless otherwise indicated). Save for any express acknowledgements, references and bibliographies, cited in the work, I confirm that the intellectual content of the work is the result of my own efforts and of no other person. The right of Thomas Anney to be identified as author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. At this date copyright is owned by the author. Signature………………………………… Date………………………….. Page | I Abstract This thesis examines the development of health and safety in the British coalmining industry in the period of rapid expansion 1840 to 1913 through a case study of the Warwickshire coalfield. It will assess the contribution of the miner, the coalowners and the State to improvements to mine safety. Although historians have been attracted to this period of coalfield expansion, they have tended to concentrate upon the complex economics necessary for success or the fractious record of industrial relations, with health and safety marginalised to the periphery. They have also mainly taken their exemplars from the important coal exporting activities of the North-East and South Wales, together with the larger coalfields of Scotland, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. By studying the Warwickshire fatalities and comparing that experience with the neighbouring counties of the East Midlands and national data, this thesis will reveal how local factors influenced safety in the mines. The individual miner had little influence upon mine safety in the period 1840 through to the mid 1870's when the sub-contracting butty system removed owners from the responsibilities of production. The establishment of a permanent Warwickshire Miners’ Association from the 1880’s, characterised by moderate leadership who sought to work closely with employers, gained for the Warwickshire miner superior earnings and conditions of employment, even when compared to neighbouring coalfields in the prosperous Midland Division. This undermines the national caricature of coalowners as brutal capitalists with little regard for their workers or communities where they gained their wealth. The results showed conclusively that it was not the mode of management but the size of the enterprise that was the dominating factor. Fatalities increased in the large deep mines that became more common at the turn of the century and were more susceptible to deaths from falls of coal and men crushed by wagons on the surface. The role of the State was somewhat patchy. Mine Inspectors could recommend that horses employed in oncost haulage should work in shafts rather than chains and that low tension batteries should be used to bring down coal, but owners were free to ignore this advice, with fatal consequences to the workforce. They were more successful in promoting the professionalization of mine management and at the turn of the century legislation was the dominant factor in the adoption of patent explosives to replace the use of gunpowder in Warwickshire mines. Page | II This thesis builds upon recent studies by McIvor and Mills which have sought to address this neglect of health and safety in the British coal mining industry. By approaching this through the study of a small coalfield that has largely been ignored by mining historians, it reveals how local factors influenced the contribution of the miner, the coalowner and the State to the problem of accidents and fatalities in the coal industry. Page | III Acknowledgements My thanks go to my supervisor, Dr Keith Gildart, for his encouragement, direction and ruthless editing of my numerous drafts. Our tutorials were always a pleasure, even if I appeared to spend much of the time arguing why paragraphs should not be cut from the text. Dr Simon Constantine and my son, Dr Richard Anney, both offered valuable criticism of various chapters, with Richard providing the colourful graphs in Chapter Three to replace my lists of figures and patiently guiding me through the mysteries of Microsoft Office. Laurence Fretwell, a Warwickshire industrial archaeologist and former colliery deputy, acted as my technical advisor, provided the drawings and generously made available his personal archive of material on the Warwickshire coalfield. All librarians at the numerous institutions that I visited were helpful, but special mention must be made to those from Bedworth Library who ensured that the newspaper collection was accessible to someone of my impaired eyesight. My friend, Peter Morgan, also stepped into the breach to provide a replacement computer system when mine was destroyed in a fire. My special thanks go to Barbara, my wife of over forty years, who has never faulted in her belief that I could do anything I set my mind to. Despite a total lack of interest in the history of the coal mining industry, she would always listen as I enthused about the latest piece of information that I had unearthed and was prepared to grant me the time and access to the family bank account to ensure that this research could be completed. Page | IV List of Abbreviations CRO ............................................................................................................... Coventry Records Office DRO ................................................................................................................. Durham Records Office WCRO ........................................................................................ Warwickshire County Records Office Page | V Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. II Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... IV List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. V Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. VI List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................... VIII List of Drawings ................................................................................................................................ VIII List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................................ IX List of Maps .......................................................................................................................................... IX Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Historians and the Coal Industry ............................................................................ 7 Economic Histories ................................................................................................................................. 8 Miners’ Trade Unions............................................................................................................................ 11 Community Studies ............................................................................................................................... 16 The Owners ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Industrial Relations and Class Conflict ................................................................................................. 25 Miners’ Lives: Autobiography and Biography ...................................................................................... 29 The State: Health and Safety in Mines .................................................................................................. 31 The Warwickshire Coalfield ................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter Two: Development of the Warwickshire Coalfield ........................................................ 42 Geology ................................................................................................................................................. 44 Emergence of the Warwickshire Coalfield ............................................................................................ 46 The 18th Century: Steam Pumping Engines and Canals ........................................................................ 50 Early 19th Century: Expansion across the coalfield .............................................................................. 55 1850 to 1890: Gradual Expansion ......................................................................................................... 67 Small Collieries: Extinction and Survival

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