Coal Mining in Lancashire & Cheshire

Lancashire can be considered one of the homes of the Industrial Revolution and it was the abundance of coal close to the surface which literally helped fuel the great growth in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. With poor roads, it was easier to move coal by water and so Lancashire landowners developed the first canals in Britain. Lancashire coal powered the cotton mills, the steelworks and the ironworks, it powered the locomotives which transported people and goods and it fuelled the ships which brought raw products to the UK and exported engineering wonders to the rest of the world. Alan Davies, author of The Atherton Collieries and The Wigan Coalfield tells the story of the Lancashire Coalfield, using a selection of rare and previously unpublished images showing both the industry itself and the human face of one of the world's most dangerous jobs.