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From: "Sheena Carmichael" <>
Subject: Re: Coal-mining occupations
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 22:25:07 +0000


Many thanks for all the helpful replies I have received, from Ian
Winstanley, Alex Hughes, Robert Gordon and Amanda Bristow. There are
still one or two holes, but these seem to be the generally agreed
answers, bearing in mind that this is for Scotland.

- coal grieve (1841 census) - no answer yet

- coalpit shanker (1861 census) - a person who repaired and
maintained the vertical shafts for coal winding and man winding . He
was a direct employee of the mine.

- coal pitheadsman (mainly in 1861 census) - (general purpose)
employee working on the surface of the mine, regulating all trams in
the shaft (up & down) and the descent/ascent of men via the pit cage
(called a banksman in Wales and perhaps in England).

- colliery labourer - could work underground or on the surface, paid
day rate rather than piece rate.

- collier check weigher (1881) - an employee paid by the miners
whose purpose was to verify the weight of coal loaded by individual
coal face workers and confirm to the miners that the coal weight
figures directly recorded by the coal owners were correct (and that
they were therefore being paid correctly). The employer's man was
called a weigher and worked in the same office, next to the
weighbridge.

- colliery clerk (1861) - often worked in the office of the pit
manager, and did all the secretarial tasks.

The course I am doing is Family and Community History, and the
project title is "The Structure of Mining Families in Hurlford,
Ayrshire, 1841 to 1881".

All the best
Sheena Carmichael

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