I have written the following story as it might
have been, having talked in my research to two miners both of whom were extremely
helpful and informative: thank you very much to Ron Pither and Gerald
Ford.
Ros Ford (Lead Volunteer, The Story of Bideford Black)
.jpg)
chapel park paint works revisited (ros ford 2013)
A Day at work in a Miner’s Life at the Bideford
Black Mine…
Having had breakfast I walked up Mines Road for 0800 hours ready to
start work. Upon entering the mine I walked past the office on the right to the
shower block to change into my work clothes: Work clothes kept there for the
purpose of mining, no special safety wear other than a hat, and wellington
boots to keep my feet dry:-just old clothes caked in Bideford Black from
previous days work... A carbon lamp in addition to show the way when
underground and to detect any unwanted gases, and a pick axe to hue the rock
out with.
As I walked into the mine the uprights made of wood formed the ribs of the mine and they joined together overhead with fir and pine tree branches in which hornets were sometimes found nesting .Once the seam was reached, work began, hard manual labour with a pick-axe.
The Biddie Black was mined out and put into a truck which was then hauled up on a winch wire.
There is a bell system to ensure that everyone knows to be out of the way as
the trucks are hauled up and down the track:
1 = Stop
2 = Truck
coming down.
3 = Truck coming up
4 = Someone walking up and down.
(Roughly 6 trams a day are produced full of
Bideford Black. each weighing a
ton).
To ensure there is air inside
the mine there is a shaft called ” The Mary Anne” ( see photo 1). This ensures that fresh air is always circulating within the mine, healthy
enough for us to breathe. If I need a wee while at
work, I just find an appropriate place and relieve myself and cover it with
soil that is lying around, anything more I have to go up to the surface and use
the toilets :- ( these toilets have a green door with green lattice work above
them ( see photo 2)
At the end of the shift I resurface and head for the shower
block very basic showers which at the end of the shift are very black. Biddie
black by its very nature is very black, oily and takes a lot of washing out. The carbolic soap used to wash is provided by the
management. I remove my work clothes, shower, change back into my “ going to
work clothes” and then head for home and supper and rest after a very
physically demanding day.
photo 2: paint works toilet door (ros ford 2013)
Apparently after finishing working in the mine, one of the
miners said that his skin actually sweated black pigment for about three
months!
Good camaraderie was
essential when working together in the mine, they all relied upon each other to
keep one another safe and interestingly during the time that the two miners I
spoke to worked at the pit there
were no serious accidents.
Regarding the hornets found nesting as one of the
miners told me, "They didn’t bother us and we didn’t bother them”.
No comments:
Post a Comment