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"But nothing could be worse than the workhouse."
This is what Jimmy Booth has always believed and he is delighted when he is chosen to be an apprentice to a collier. But he is soon to wish he was back in the workhouse. His food and accommodation is little better than that of the workhouse and he has a long, exhausting day's work in the mine.
The nightmare begins before he is even down the pit. He had thought he would go down in a cage but instead he is lowered down on a bar - a terrifying experience. Once at work he has to fill a corve, or little truck, with coal and then he has to harness himself to it and pull it along the tunnels to the "main road." At the end of the day, as well as being worn out every part of him hurts. "His feet and knees were raw, and the palms of his hands. His nails were split and blackened. There was a weal across his stomach where the harness had been. His head ached from pushing the corves."
But there is even worse to come. Jimmy's life could be in danger. Jimmy has already found out that his master's last apprentice was "knocked on the head." There are repeated warnings that he is to keep out of the "closed road" - a disused tunnel.
In his first day down the pit Jimmy strikes up a friendship with Trapper Joe - a small boy who sits all day in the dark and opens a little door in the tunnel to let the corves through. At the end of the day Joe goes to the forbidden closed road - and Jimmy follows him. They are discovered by Jimmy's master and the mine owner but manage to escape. They make for the house of a Mr Croft because Joe is sure he will help them, but Mr Croft is in London. Joe and Jimmy set off for London. They hide by day and travel by night because Mr Rawdon, the mine owner, has accused them of theft and put up reward posters for them.
Eventually Jimmy is caught and taken back to the pit. He is imprisoned in the "closed road" which has another prisoner - a sick man who is likely to die if he does not get proper treatment.
Meanwhile Joe is still trying to make his way to London. Does he find Mr Croft and is he in time to save Jimmy and the mysterious prisoner?
This is an exciting adventure and mystery story which, at the same time, paints a good picture of conditions in the mines, and the misery of the child workers, in the first part of the nineteenth century.
10+
This book was first published in 1970.
The Nipper is a Galloway pony. When a foal he is rescued by Sandy Gillespie, a farm boy. Sandy loves The Nipper, cares for him and teaches him how to do tricks. Then disaster strikes when Mr Blyth, the farmer Sandy works for, loses his farm and becomes a herdsman on someone else's farm. The Nipper is sold and Sandy and his widowed mother go to live in a hovel.
Sandy learns that The Nipper has been sold as a pit pony. He gets himself a job down the mine in the hope of seeing The Nipper again. Sandy starts work and finds his pony. There is much discontent as the miners feel they are being cheated and there is talk of a strike. There are two opposing factions; the main one led by the sensible and moderate Tom Fitzsimmons and a smaller one led by the drunken, violent and extreme Big Mullen. Sandy is caught between the two groups.
The story developes. It involves an old mine and a secret passage leading to the house of a wealthy farmer, a concealed room and the strange Mad or Old Mark who lives in a cave on the fells. Finally there is a thrilling climax when Sandy takes The Nipper and rides to warn Sir William that his house is about to be blown up.
This is an exciting story. There is much detail about work in the mines. This is contrasted with the style and opulence of Sir William and his family. The heartlessness of the wealthy classes is highlighted as when Mark lost an arm and a leg when he was caught in a man trap when poaching.
At the end The Nipper and Sandy both get their reward. The Nipper gets to spend the rest of his days in a field and Sandy is to work on Sir William's farm. The ending is perhaps a little too neat and satisfactory, but does it really matter? I don't think so.
This is a gripping story with much historical detail but, for an animal person, like myself it is primarily the story of a boy and his horse. Sandy is a character I can emphasise with.
10+
Parys Mountain is in the north east of Anglesey and, during the industrial revolution, it became the greatest coppermine in the world. The village of Amlwch, at its foot, expanded with the growth of the mine. This book is about a country family who go to try and find work in the copper mine. It is told from the viewpoint of the second son, ten year old Caleb.
No precise date is given for the story. We are only told it was "about 200 years ago" but there is a reference to a ship called the Wellington. I presume that was after the Duke of Wellington and so I have placed this book in the early part of the nineteenth century.
Caleb, his two brothers and two sisters and his parents live in a cottage in the country. The father and older son work for a farmer. But they do not earn enough to feed the family and so the younger children have to do what they can. For example they go gleaning, i.e. after the harvest they walk over the field picking up any ears of corn, which have been left behind.
Then the farmer tells Caleb's father that there is no more work on the farm. There is nothing for it. They will have to leave. Caleb does not want to leave. He likes the country. He loves the feel of the wind on his face and the smell of the gorse in full bloom. And he has a friend - Twm, the old carthorse that grazes behind the cottage. More than anything in the world Caleb would like to work with horses.
But they have to leave. Their few possessions are packed on a cart and they push it all the way to Amlwch. It is raining but all they have to keep themselves dry are some sacks which they throw over their shoulders. They reach Amlwch and Uncle Tomos and Aunt Margaret find room for them in their cramped cottage.
Caleb hates Amlwch with its stench and suffocating smoke and hordes of ragged, begging children. Uncle Tomos works in the mine and Aunt Margaret is a "copper lady" (one of the women who hammers the copper ore). But Caleb cannot find work. He is small and weak because he had the fever when he was younger. He is told only strong workers are required.
But there is one person who has been kind to Caleb. This is a rich squire, Mr Wyn. He has twice given Caleb two pennies for holding his fine horse Prince. If Caleb can only find Mr Wyn again he might be able to persuade him to give him work with horses. But Mr Wyn is nowhere to be found.
Then there is a riot. The people of Anglesey are starving and yet there is a ship, the Wellington, in the harbour about to take Anglesey corn to Liverpool. The people plan to steal the rudder and prevent it from sailing. Caleb is caught up in the riot and finally gets a chance to prove himself.
This book is notable for the vivid picture it paints of the utter poverty in Anglesey at the time of the industrial revolution - both in the country and in the industrial village of Amlwch. Caleb's dream adds an extra dimension to the story.
Caleb is a character with whom animal lovers - like myself - will be able to empathise.
The Copper Crust shows courage and resilience in the face of incredible hardship.
8-12
This book is about 20,000 words long.
It is the 1860's. Twelve year old Daniel Morgan is going to start work in the mines. It is the custom for boys to begin work with their fathers but Daniel's father is a drunken wastrel and his mother has arranged for him to work with Sion Phylip instead.
Sion teaches Daniel a lot. First about work in the mine. Sion works at the coalface and Daniel has to put the loosened coal in the dram, or truck, then he has to push the full one to the rails and bring back an empty one.
Sion teaches Daniel more than just mining. During their lunch break he gives Daniel lessons in reading and writing.
Sion is worried about something. The air in his part of the mine is bad. Sion knows this is dangerous. There could be an explosion. He complains to the overman but is told that he has a contract and he must stick to it. Planning is for the overman - not for Sion Phylip.
During the lunch breaks Sion is often away talking to the other miners. Then Daniel is suddenly told that he is to work for Sion no longer. He is to work in another mine instead.
At first Daniel is hurt by this. He does not understand that it is to protect him if there is trouble. Then he hears that Sion and some other miners have been arrested and put in gaol for starting a strike and breaking their contracts.
Sion has been a good friend to Daniel and Daniel would like to help him. But what can a twelve year old boy do? More than anyone can imagine. Daniel walks to the courthouse and slips in when no one is looking. And then, by chance, he meets the Vicar Rhosier Beynon. And the Vicar knows how to make people listen to him.
Although simply told for young children the writing is quite compelling. It is obviously written from the heart. And no wonder. The author, Bernard Evans, belonged to generations of miners and this story is based on the life of one of his family who was imprisoned in the 1850's for breaking a mine contract.
7 - 11
This is one of the Flashbacks series for children aged seven to eleven.
This book is a fictionalised account of the ironstone mining in the Cleveland area in the last part of the nineteenth century. It is told from the viewpoint of Ned Nicholson.
The story starts in 1865 with Ned walking along the beach helping his mother to gather driftwood for the fire. The Nicholsons have been a fishing family for generations. Shortly after this the railway is finished. This means that more tunnels can be opened in the mines and miners come up from Cornwall. The fisher folk are suspicious at first, but then they start to take in the Cornish miners as lodgers and then some of them leave the fishing and take jobs in the mines.
Ned cannot work in the mines as he is not old enough but he is good with Bloater, the donkey which belongs to the fishing community as a whole. Ned earns what he can by leading Bloater and the donkey cart up and down the valley, carrying waste shale to the tip, snout ends of timber, picks and shovels or anything else the miners needed shifting. He is given the nickname "Donkeyboy."
When Ned is eleven he goes to work in the mine. He starts as a "trappy lad." He has to sit in the dark all day and open a door when he hears a tub coming. It is a long tiring day but after a time Ned begins to get used to the long, lonely waits in the dark and looks forward to the moments of excitement when the horse tubs come. One day he finds, by mistake, the underground stables where the shire horses are kept.
Then there is an accident. Hector, the most difficult horse, is trapped by a pit prop which has fallen across his back and it is Ned who manages to get Hector back on his feet again. Ned is rewarded by being given the chance to become a driver. Later he becomes deputy stableman and eventually he is put in charge of the whole stable block. The book ends with Ned an old man of seventy telling his grandson about the development of the Cleveland Valley.
This book contains a great deal of information about mining in the nineteenth century told simply for young readers. Informative and enjoyable.
Tom lives on a croft in the Shetland
Islands in the second half of the nineteenth century. His father
breeds Shetland ponies. One of these ponies is very special to
Tom, but, when it is three years old it is sent to England to
be sold -- probably to be a pit pony. By this time Tom is eleven
and Tom begs to be allowed to go in the ship with Storm, as the
pony is called. His father agrees that Tom can go with the pony
and stay with his aunt and uncle in Durham for a short time.
So Tom goes and sees Storm sold as a pit pony. Tom cannot bear
to think of Storm hauling tubs a mile below the ground, never
to see the sky again or gallop over the soft turf. But he is reassured
that Storm will be well fed and cared for.
And there is one thing about his visit which he likes very much
indeed. His aunt and uncle live in a fine house, with a proper
hearth and chimney, a big oil-lamp which gives enough light to
read easily by, and thick velour curtains which keep out every
draught. All so unlike the cramped croft where the air is always
smoky from the peat fire and where it is always cold.
After seeing Storm settled Tom goes back to the Shetlands. Then
when he is fourteen he asks to go back to his aunt and uncle again.
He is now old enough for work. Does he want to stay on the croft?
Or be a fisherman? But he is frightened of the sea. His parents
agree that he can stay a couple of weeks to think things over
and he goes back to his Uncle Joe. He could even become a miner,
but he is frightened of that too.
Tom makes enquiries about Storm and learns which mine he is working
in. He is allowed to go down the mine and finds that his favourite
pony is being well looked after. He has a comfortable stable and
a lad who loves him.
And then Tom finds out a few things which he had not learned on
his previous visit. The fine house that so impressed Tom the first
time does not belong to his uncle. It belongs to the mine. If
he had had a son and that son had followed him down the mine then
he would have been allowed to stay in the house after retiring.
But Uncle Joe and Aunt Bunny have no children and when Joe stops
working they will be turned out of their home. And as far as Storm
is concerned Tom is still convinced that the mine is no place
for him. There is the ever present danger of roof-falls, floodings
and gas explosions.
Tom decides to go back to the Shetlands and become a fisherman.
And then there is an accident at the mine and Storm is badly injured.
For a time it seems as if he will die. And even if he does recover
he will just be sent back down the mine.
This little book is for children just beginning to read books
on their own. Although the main emphasis is on the treatment of
pit ponies living and working conditions for the miners and their
families are also well described. At times -- especially when
Tom is nursing Storm -- it is poignant and heart rending but there
is a fairy tale ending to lift the spirits of young children,
and animal lovers of all ages.
6--9
Out-of-Print
Matthew Clemens thinks that history is rubbish. Then his teacher Mr Williams tells him to go and copy out the inscription on a tombstone in the local churchyard. Matthew does so and gradually finds himself becoming involved in the history of the part of Cornwall in which he lives. He finds out about the tin miners who were killed in accidents. Then he slips back into the nineteenth century and goes down a mine with young Jeremy Visick - and finds himself in great danger.
First published in 1981
11+