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Child MinersUnique and Local Primary Sources
Home Learning Booklet
1
Durham County Record Office
Contents
Introduction 3
Durham County Record Office 4
Historical Background 5
Sources used in the Worksheets 7
Finding Out More 8
Worksheet 9
Glossary 20
Worksheet with Answers 22
Sources can be printed for home education use only.
Any further use will require additional permission
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Introduction
This home learning booklet is designed for use by children working with
parents or teachers to find out more about life in County Durham in
the 1840s, when coal mining was a new industry and miners were not
protected by any laws regulating safety, hours or the age at which
children could legally work underground.
It investigates what life was like for these early miners using archives,
reports and records from the time. These are also known as primary
sources and are a fantastic way to find out about history for yourself,
discovering real people who lived and worked in Durham in times past.
It can be challenging, people in the past often use words that seem
strange to us, but the worksheet takes a step by step approach and
there is a glossary to explain any difficult terms.
The booklets are designed to be used by schools or parents for home
learning, but could equally be used in class. Each contains:
• Historical background – you can read this through in advance or
with your child, as you prefer
• Suggestion for websites to find out more
• A worksheet for the child to work through, which introduces and
explains the sources one by one
• Glossary – explaining some of the words and terms contained in
the sources
• Worksheet with answers
Finally, we would love to hear about your experience of using this
booklet. Please complete the questionnaire on our website or email
your comments to [email protected].
3
Durham County Record OfficeOur records tell the story of County Durham, its people and places,
from soldiers to suffragettes and from coal mining to the World Wars.
They are a fantastic way for children to investigate their local history
for themselves.
Ordinarily, we operate a public searchroom and research service to
help people access our records. We also run workshops and produce
resources for schools.
In the current lockdown situation, we are offering online learning
worksheets to assist both teachers and parents with home schooling.
For further information, please contact our education archivist at
4
Historical BackgroundThroughout history, children have contributed to their parents’ work.
In agricultural communities, this meant helping tend livestock or
keeping crows away from crops. But as the country became more
industrial, children began to follow their parents into factories and
down mines.
The public began to hear stories of young children working in appalling
conditions and were concerned. In 1842, the government appointed a
commission to investigate child labour in factories and mines. They
travelled around the country and interviewed miners and factory
workers of all ages to uncover the conditions the children worked in,
so that the government could decide if it was necessary for laws to be
passed restricting child labour.
In the 1840s, the mining industry in Durham was just taking off. Coal
had been mined for centuries, but new advances made it possible to
dig deeper and more effectively. Mines at that date were mostly found
in the west and north of the county, rather than the deeper mines to
the east that came later and continued until the 1990s.
The youngest children in mines most often worked as trappers, sitting
alone next to a door, then opening and shutting it to allow wagons
through. Hours were long and it was not uncommon for children to fall
asleep at their post, which could result in the child being beaten by
the miner who came along and found the door closed.
Surprisingly, the pressure to employ young boys came more often from
the parents, desperate for the wages their children could earn, than
from the mine managers and owners. The managers certainly argued
that they needed to employ children to make their mines profitable, as
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children were paid less than adults. But they saw no advantage to
employing children younger than nine or ten. Instead it was the
parents who would bring their children to the pit and plead for them to
be employed there.
This may seem counter-intuitive to a modern parent, but families were
often living in desperate poverty and the money a child could earn was
badly needed. They also lacked the modern concept that childhood
should be a time for growing, playing and education.
Durham was different from other mining areas in that women were not
employed underground in the pits. Elsewhere, the commissioners were
scandalised to find women pulling carts or carrying coal up ladders.
Worse, to the Victorian mind, was that they worked alongside men who
frequently wore little, or even no clothing because it was hot and dirty
underground.
Following the report, there was a general outcry at the findings,
resulting in the passing of two key pieces of legislation: the Factory
Act (1833) and the Mines Act (1842). Both forbade the employment of
very young children and it became illegal for children under nine to
work in a factory or for those under ten to work underground in a
mine. The same act banned women and girls from working
underground at any age.
Over the century that followed, the minimum age was repeatedly
raised and in the later nineteenth century, boys had to be able to read
and write before going down the mine.
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Sources used in the WorksheetsThe sources are taken from a range of archives and are either items in
our collections or documents to which we have access.
DCRO Ref: Library G249
The image of the trapper boy is taken from the Commissioners’ Report
on Child Labour, published in 1842 and is now in the Public Domain, so
no copyright restrictions apply.
This section of the report contains evidence and information given by
men and boys interviewed in the South Durham Coalfield. The subjects
range from colliery managers to trapper boys, and the report also
includes testimony from doctors as to the health of the mining
population.
You can view a selection of pages from the report here:
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/report-on-child-labour-1842
1841 Census
We hold copies of the 1841 Census on microfilm and have access to
censuses on popular family history websites Ancestry and Find my Past.
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Finding Out More
If you would like to find out more about miners and mining, try these
two websites.
BBC Bitesize – Children working in Coal Mines
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/z73b4wx
This video explains the life of a trapper and shows some of the dangers
miners faced.
National Coal Mining Museum
https://www.ncm.org.uk/learning/learning-resources/mining-
factsheets
The website has lots of factsheets with useful information. The
museum is based in Wakefield and the mines in Yorkshire were a little
different to those in Durham. For example, job titles were different
and no women or girls worked underground in Durham. But the overall
experience for miners was very similar.
8
Worksheet
Look at this sketch from 1842.
Let’s investigate what may be happening here.
Start by listing all the things you can see in the photograph.
For example, a small child.
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What questions do you have?
For example, what is the child doing?
Now think more carefully about some of those things. Can we find any
clues that might help to answer your questions?
For example, does the writing above the sketch give you any clues?
10
The sketch is of a mine in 1842. At that time, there were no rules
about who could work underground, so lots of children worked as
miners. Some were as young as six years old!
As we investigate, we will find words that are not used anymore, or
that mean something different now. There is a glossary on page 20 to
help you.
The government in 1842 was worried that the children were being
badly treated. So they sent men, called commissioners, to investigate.
The commissioners travelled to areas like County Durham, where there
were lots of coal mines, and spoke to the miners working there. They
then wrote a report about what they had found, with illustrations like
the sketch that you looked at.
This was what one boy had to tell the commissioners.
Remember, this was written over 175 years ago, so the grammar may
seem strange. The writing is based on notes taken by the
commissioners and sentences are often short and incomplete.
11
Number 111 – William Laws
Is ten years and three months old. Works in Blackboy pit. Has worked
two years. Was a trapper when he first went down; was a barrow-way
trapper. Had a place to sit in, had a candle, had a string to pull the
door; liked it nicely.
Got up at two o’clock. A man came and called him. He got up – got
coffee and cake – walked to the pit. Went down in the cage with the
men and boys. Walked to the barrow-way and sat down. Took victuals
with him – white cake and coffee – might eat when he liked. Stopped in
the pit until four. The trappers in the horseway cannot get away so
soon. Went home, took victuals, washed himself and went to bed. Got
10d a day; it was paid to his mother.
Look back at the sketch. Can you answer any more of your questions
now?
12
What else did we learn about William and his work in the pit?
We’ve found out quite a bit about William already, but what else
would you like to know?
Make a list of questions below. Leave the answers blank for now. We’ll
come back later and see if we can fill those in.
Questions Answers
13
Let’s start by seeing what else William told the commissioners.
Is now a trapper in the horseway. The doors are larger. Sits and pulls a
string in the same way as before. The door shuts of itself. Never falls
asleep. Has been baisted sometimes, when a driver has told him to
keep the door open because another horse was coming and he has not
done it. Likes the pit nicely; gets 10d a day; works eight days in the
fortnight, sometimes more. There are more trappers than they want;
cannot employ them all every day.
Goes to school sometimes on Sundays; cannot read; cannot say the
Lord’s Prayer or the Commandments.
When he is in the pit, nobody comes to talk to him.
Sets mice traps in the pit and catches two sometimes; brings them to
the cat in the stable of the pit. There are midges in the pit which fly at
the candles. Never plays at anything the days he works in the pit; on
other days he plays at marbles; throws a ball at the wall; plays at
touching a boy and running to catch him; plays at the hoop – iron or
wood. Quarrels with other boys.
Can you answer these questions?
How many days does he work
each fortnight?
Why was he beaten?
When does he go to school?
14
Why might he not play with other
children on days he works in the
pit?
What games does he play?
Go back to your questions and see if you can answer any of them now.
We know William worked at Blackboy Colliery, which is near Coundon
Grange, about one and a half miles south east of Bishop Auckland.
We can use a source called the census to tell us more about his family.
The census is a survey done by the government every ten years. It lists
all the people living in every house in the country, with details about
them, such as their job or age.
The first census was in 1841. This is the entry for William and his
family.
Have a look, but don’t worry if it’s hard to read. Handwriting in 1841
was quite different from ours and the census uses lots of abbreviations
like ‘do’ or ‘ditto’, meaning ‘same as above’.
You can find a transcript, or typed version after the image.
15
© Crown Copyright Images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London,
England
16
1841 Census
Township of Bishop Auckland
Gib Chare
Name Age Employment Born in Co. Durham?
Ann Laws 45 Dress Maker Yes
Thomas Laws 20 Tallow Chandler Yes
John Laws 12 Coal Miner Yes
William Laws 10 Coal Miner Yes
Henry Laws 7
In 1841, the census doesn’t tell us how the people are related to each
other, but we can make a good guess.
They all have the same surname so are likely to be all the same family.
We know William’s mother is alive, because his wages are paid to her.
There’s only one woman in the house and she’s the right age. So, we
can assume that Ann Laws is William’s mother.
What about Thomas, John and Henry? Who might they be?
In the 1840s, the biggest earner in most families was the father.
Married women didn’t usually work. William’s father isn’t listed and his
mother is working, so we can assume his father has either died,
abandoned the family, or gone to seek work elsewhere.
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What have we learned about William from the census?
See if you can answer any more of your questions now.
You can find the answers at the back of this booklet. Have a look and
see if there are any you missed, or any extra information you can find.
18
Create a fact file about William. Include information about his work
and family. You might even like to draw a picture, showing what you
think he looked like.
19
Glossary
10d a day his wages (4p in today’s money, which was worth
about £2.52 in 1842)
baisted beaten
barrow-way a tunnel with rails, along which wagons of coal
were pushed
cake small, flat sort of bread, something like stotties.
We don’t actually know what white cake is, other
than a variety of bread! (see note at the bottom of
the glossary)
census a survey every ten years listing who lives in every
house in the country
coffee similar to the modern drink, but perhaps made
with chicory root (a plant in the dandelion family)
rather than coffee beans. Mining families often
didn’t have access to clean water, so drinks like
tea and coffee that involved boiling the water
were a way to make it safe to drink
commissioners men appointed to find out what was happening in
mines and report back to the government
Commandments the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in
the Bible
fortnight two weeks
20
Lord’s Prayer a common prayer that Christian children are
taught. Not knowing it indicates that a child’s
religious education has been neglected
hoop rolling a hoop along and trying to keep it upright
using a stick
horseway a tunnel where horses pull wagons of coal
tallow chandler a person who makes and sells candles
trapper a small child who sits next to a door and opens it
to allow wagons through
victuals food
What is white cake?
Words change over time and so does food. When William said he had
‘white cake and coffee’ for lunch, he knew what he meant and so did
the commissioner he was talking to. Neither of them thought it needed
explaining.
Except that today, cake means something very different. To mining
families in the 1840s, cake meant a small, flat sort of bread. We don’t
know what ‘white cake’ was. It may have been milk bread, where milk
is used in place of water, or ‘white’ may have referred to the filling.
21
Worksheet with Answers
Look at this sketch from 1842.
Let’s investigate what may be happening here.
Start by listing all the things you can see in the photograph.
For example, a small child.
Answers will depend on what the child has noticed, but may include:
A wagon full of coal
A fence or gate
A tunnel
A pillar holding up the roof
The wagon is sitting on rails
Writing reading ‘The Nature of Employment in Mines’
22
What questions do you have?
For example, what is the child doing?
Answers will depend on what the child has noticed, but might include:
Is it a gate or a fence?
What is pulling the wagon?
Who drew the picture?
Now think more carefully about some of those things. Can we find any
clues that might help to answer your questions?
For example, does the writing above the sketch give you any clues?
Depending on the child’s questions, clues may include:
The writing talks about employment in mines and the picture shows a
child. This could be about children working in mines.
The child is next to the gate and there is no other job they could be
doing.
You can see it is a gate because there are hinges attaching it to the
wall.
There is no rope or person pulling the wagon, something must be
pushing it.
23
The sketch is of a mine in 1842. At that time, there were no rules
about who could work underground, so lots of children worked as
miners. Some were as young as six years old!
As we investigate, we will find words that are not used anymore, or
that mean something different now. There is a glossary on page 20 to
help you.
The government in 1842 was worried that the children were being
badly treated. So they sent men, called commissioners, to investigate.
The commissioners travelled to areas like County Durham, where there
were lots of coal mines, and spoke to the miners working there. They
then wrote a report about what they had found, with illustrations like
the sketch that you looked at.
This was what one boy had to tell the commissioners.
Remember, this was written over 175 years ago, so the grammar may
seem strange. The writing is based on notes taken by the
commissioners and sentences are often short and incomplete.
24
Number 111 – William Laws
Is ten years and three months old. Works in Blackboy pit. Has worked
two years. Was a trapper when he first went down; was a barrow-way
trapper. Had a place to sit in, had a candle, had a string to pull the
door; liked it nicely.
Got up at two o’clock. A man came and called him. He got up – got
coffee and cake – walked to the pit. Went down in the cage with the
men and boys. Walked to the barrow-way and sat down. Took victuals
with him – white cake and coffee – might eat when he liked. Stopped in
the pit until four. The trappers in the horseway cannot get away so
soon. Went home, took victuals, washed himself and went to bed. Got
10d a day; it was paid to his mother.
Look back at the sketch. Can you answer any more of your questions
now?
We know now that:
The child is a trapper, like William.
They are opening and closing the gate to allow wagons through.
The sketch was made for the Commissioners’ report.
What else did we learn about William and his work in the pit?
He is 10 years and 3 months old.
He works in Blackboy Pit.
He has worked there 2 years.
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He previously worked as a barrow way trapper.
He was given a candle and string to pull the door.
He got up at 2am.
He walked to work and back.
He took victuals with him and could eat when he liked.
His food was white cake and coffee.
He finished at 4pm.
He was paid 10d.
His wages are paid to his mother.
We’ve found out quite a bit about William already, but what else
would you like to know?
Make a list of questions below. Leave the answers blank for now. We’ll
come back later and see if we can fill those in.
Questions Answers
26
Let’s start by seeing what else William told the commissioners.
Is now a trapper in the horseway. The doors are larger. Sits and pulls a
string in the same way as before. The door shuts of itself. Never falls
asleep. Has been baisted sometimes, when a driver has told him to
keep the door open because another horse was coming and he has not
done it. Likes the pit nicely; gets 10d a day; works eight days in the
fortnight, sometimes more. There are more trappers than they want;
cannot employ them all every day.
Goes to school sometimes on Sundays; cannot read; cannot say the
Lord’s Prayer or the Commandments.
When he is in the pit, nobody comes to talk to him.
Sets mice traps in the pit and catches two sometimes; brings them to
the cat in the stable of the pit. There are midges in the pit which fly at
the candles. Never plays at anything the days he works in the pit; on
other days he plays at marbles; throws a ball at the wall; plays at
touching a boy and running to catch him; plays at the hoop – iron or
wood. Quarrels with other boys.
Can you answer these questions?
How many days does he
work each fortnight?
Eight
Why was he beaten? Because he didn’t keep the door open
when he was told to.
When does he go to
school?
Sunday. [Sunday Schools in the 1840s
often taught reading and writing as well
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as scripture because this was the only
education most children would get]
Why might he not play
with other children on
days he works in the pit?
Answers will vary, but may include:
He doesn’t like them.
He’s too tired after working all day.
He’s worried about being too tired the
next day and falling asleep [many children
the commissioners spoke to said they are
afraid to play after work for this reason].
What games does he
play?
He throws a ball at the wall.
He plays Tig (‘touching a boy and running
to catch him’).
He plays with a hoop.
Go back to your questions and see if you can answer any of them now.
We know William worked at Blackboy Colliery, which is near Coundon
Grange, about one and a half miles south east of Bishop Auckland.
We can use a source called the census to tell us more about his family.
The census is a survey done by the government every ten years. It
gives us a list of all the people living in every house in the country,
with details about them, such as their job or age.
The first census was in 1841 and this is the entry for William and his
family.
Have a look, but don’t worry if it’s hard to read. Handwriting in 1841
was quite different from ours and the census uses lots of abbreviations
like ‘do’ or ‘ditto’, meaning ‘same as above’.
You can find a transcript, or typed version, on the page after the
image.
29
© Crown Copyright – Images reproduced by courtesy of The National Archives, London,
England
1841 Census
Township of Bishop Auckland
Gib Chare
Name Age Employment Born in Co. Durham?
Ann Laws 45 Dress Maker Yes
Thomas Laws 20 Tallow Chandler Yes
John Laws 12 Coal Miner Yes
William Laws 10 Coal Miner Yes
Henry Laws 7
In 1841, the census doesn’t tell us how the people are related to each
other, but we can make a good guess.
They all have the same surname, so are likely to be all the same
family.
We know William’s mother is alive, because his wages are paid to her.
There’s only one woman in the house and she’s the right age. So, we
can assume that Ann Laws is William’s mother.
What about Thomas, John and Henry? Who might they be?
Brothers – they live in the same house, have the same surname and are
close enough in age
In the 1840s, the biggest earner in most families was the father.
Married women didn’t usually work. William’s father isn’t listed and his
mother is working, so we can assume his father has either died,
abandoned the family, or gone to seek work elsewhere.
30
What else have we learned about William?
He lives in Gib Chare, Bishop Auckland.
His mother is named Ann.
He has two older brothers named Thomas and John.
He has a younger brother named Henry.
He was born in County Durham.
The census also gives us ages and jobs for his family.
His dad didn’t live with him.
31
