A Trip to Hopewell Colliery, Forest of Dean
On 27 July 2022, my son Kevin took me for a grand day out to celebrate my 85th birthday. The venue chosen was the Hopewell Colliery at Coleford in the Forest of Dean. We...
Killed in a Coalpit – revisited
I was recently contacted by Andrew Plaster, a fellow member of Bristol & Avon FHS who, via the Facebook Group (Bitton, Hanham, Longwell Green & Oldland Memories, (administered by Julie Johns) discovered a...
Brislington Coal
There are references to coalmining in Brislington from the early 17th century: the first being in 1614 when Anthony son of William Roache, collier, of Brislington was apprenticed to Chris. Powell, a Bristol weaver....
‘Killed in a Coalpit’ – Ram Hill – seeing the place where it happened
Years ago when researching my paternal family I came upon hitherto unsuspected connections with an ancient industrial history. From that time I became obsessed (not too strong a word) with the lives of coalminers,...
Bristol is a village……or…….Who will I find next?
It has been said often enough that “Bristol is a village”; you will generally meet someone you know, or if you were my Dad, you would “get talking, and know their Auntie Fanny” or...
Ram Hill Colliery – Heritage Open Day Sunday 19th Sept, 10.30-4pm
Visit this 19th century mine site, with the remains of the mine shaft, horse-gin, bunkers and Dramway. Take a walk through the woodland area and enjoy this fine example of local history. Find us...
Five Collier Boys
On pages 126 -127 of my book, ‘Killed in a Coalpit’ there is a picture of five young colliers named Stephen Hill, Daniel Poole, George Garland, Charles Lewis and Isaac Britain. They were entombed...
George HARVEY, Bailiff at Easton Colliery, Bristol, and the ‘Harvey Jar’
I first heard the story of the Harvey Jar from Becky Bull. The Jar is a treasured possession of the Harvey family of New Zealand. Becky saw it when she visited relatives in Wellington...
Killed in a Coal Pit – Tragedy at Golden Valley, Bitton 1882
On Sunday 26 March 1882, smoke was seen billowing from the top of the New Pit, in Golden Valley, Bitton. Abraham Cook, 55, the bailiff, insisted on going down the pit, against the better...
The Underground Men: A Personal View of the Kingswood Colliers
This article was written in Spring 1981 and published in Avon Past issue No 4 (the journal of the Avon Archaeological Council and the Avon Local History Association (ALHA). This article was very much...
About Me
I have been researching the social history of the West Country for 45 years. During this time I have collated information on a wide range of people living and working in the West Country including miners, ethnic minorities, petty criminals, sailors, tommies, benefactors, brassmakers and many more. The thing that I find amazing is that ordinary people always lived extraordinary lives. I hope you like my blog that brings together my lifetime of research.
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