The Collieries and Coalminers of Staffordshire Richard Stone Size: 248x172 Binding: Hardback Pages: 144 Number of Illustrations: 150 Published: October 2007 ISBN: 978 186077 455 3 RRP: £15.99
	Scratch the surface of Staffordshire and you will find coal. Nowhere else in Great Britain is coal of such quality available in such quantity. Accessible surface outcrops were mined for domestic use in medieval times, when coal was the poor man’s fuel, but demand rocketed with the advent of industrialisation. Generations of the same families made their living from coalmining and inherent risks meant few were untouched by tragedy. But commercial extraction came to an end in the county in 1998 when Silverdale, the last deep pit, closed. Since then spoilheaps have been reclaimed and raw pitheads landscaped and whole communities have faced the challenge of an uncertain future. A way of life vanished but strong memories remain. Conditions particular to Staffordshire collieries produced distinctive forms of management and labour organisation, notably the charter master or ‘butty’ system, but techniques pioneered in the county were also adopted worldwide. When the industry was nationalised in 1947 more than forty thousand people were employed in Staffordshire. New technologies made the industry less labour-intensive but recruitment continued into the 1970s and the county’s miners became national productivity champions and boasted an unparalleled safety record. The damaging strike of 1984-5 exposed underlying economic problems in the industry, demand for coal being in rapid decline, but deep beneath Staffordshire today untouched reserves amount to millions of tons. They will be there long after oil and natural gas have been depleted. From the earliest bell-pits to the deepest mines in western Europe, The Collieries and Coalminers of Staffordshire deftly weaves original sources, revealing personal anecdotes and a wealth of carefully selected illustrations to celebrate an industry whose contribution to the county has been so significant. It tells a fascinating story of individual endeavour and enterprise, communal achievement and, above all, of shared values and comradeship. It will inspire memories in former miners and their families and illuminate a former way life to those for whom coalmining is merely history.