Running outside, chasing your friends, playing with Legos–these are things you might remember doing as a young child. However, from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s in Britain, being paid meager wages and working for as much as sixteen-hour days with dangerous mining equipment was the norm for many young, British children. During the Industrial Revolution this was an ugly reality. Many working-class families found it necessary to have their children work alongside them in the mines. Because of their size and cooperation, and because it was easier to pay them less, these children were paid about five times less than men for the same number of hours worked, which for these young miners could be up to fourteen-hour days.1
Before the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842, children as young as four were allowed to work in the mines.2 Just imagine such young children running around a dark coal mine–it simply does not sound safe at all. These children were hired to be able to get into those hard to reach places that fully grown adults were unable to get into. During the Industrial Revolution, coal was a major source of energy, and was extremely important because it burned hotter than wood charcoal. The primary use of coal was used as a source of energy, and used to power the steam engines of factories, where many other children also worked. Because of its high demand and necessity, it helped increase jobs for the working people. Because of these factories, major industrial cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool, grew at a fast pace from small villages into large cities.3
In British coal mines, children typically had one of three jobs. Trappers, typically the youngest, would open and close the wooden doors–also called trap doors–to allow fresh air to flow through the mine. These trappers would sit in darkness for almost twelve hours at a time. It may seem a simple task, but if one of these little ones fell asleep, the job could become very dangerous. Other jobs were the tasks of hurrier and thruster. These jobs were usually given to older children and women. These workers had to pull and push tubs that were full of coal along the roadways, all the way to the pit bottom. The hurriers would be harnessed to the tub, and the thrusters would then help hurriers by pushing these tubs of coal. The thruster would have to push tubs of coal weighing over 600 kilograms from behind with their hands and the tops of their heads. The thrusters, mainly older girls, had to carry these baskets of dug coal, which were much too heavy for them. Because of their heavy weight, it would then cause their young, growing bodies to develop with deformities. The last typical job was the getter. This one was typically assigned to the oldest and strongest, usually grown men or strong, older teens. This job required them to work at the coal face, cutting the coal from the seam with a pickaxe. This was typically the only job where they would use a candle or safety lamp for light, as cutting the coal required it.4 Although the work at the coal mine may not seem very difficult, it was very dangerous. In one unnamed coal mine, 58 of the total 349 deaths in one year involved children thirteen years or younger.5
Those who worked in coal mines–whether below or above ground–were exposed to life-threatening working conditions that could ultimately be detrimental to their health. Children, mainly boys as young as eight, worked as breakers. Here, the coal was crushed, washed, and sorted according to size. The coal would come down a chute and along a moving belt. These breaker boys would work in what was called the picking room. Here, they would work hunched over for ten hours a day, six days a week, sorting the rock and slate from the coal with their bare hands. If their attention even drifted for a second, they could lose a finger in the machinery.6 The work also resulted in their exposure to a large amount of dust. In some cases, the dust was so dense that their vision would be obstructed. This dust would also get into their lungs, which needless to say, was terrible for their health.7 These children sometimes even had a person prodding or kicking them into obedience to make sure their attention did not stray.
These working conditions for children continued until the United Kingdom’s Parliament passed the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842. The act included a report that informed the public about how children as young as five years old were working as trappers for “twelve hours a day and two pennies a day.”8 It was not until the Children’s Employment (Mines) Report came out alongside it in 1842 that Parliament passed the act that all boys and girls under the age of ten were not allowed to work in the coal mines.9 Even after this law prevented children under fourteen from working in the mines, people still found ways around it. For example, since some regions did not have a compulsory registration of birth, someone could easily lie and claim that these boys were simply “small for their age.” Finally, with this legislation came the snowball effect of humanitarians and a larger awareness of health and safety regulations for workers, which led to the start of the end of child labor in England.10
- Children’s Employment Commission First Report of the Commissioners (Mines), (Halifax: Irish University Press, 1842), 77-81. ↵
- Encyclopedia Britannica.com, December 2012, s.v. “Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of Shaftesbury,” by Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. ↵
- New World Encyclopedia, February 2017, s.v., “Child Labor,” by New World Encyclopedia Contributors. ↵
- Great Britain Commissioners, The Condition and Treatment of the Children employed in the Mines and Colliers of the United Kingdom Carefully compiled from the appendix to the first report of the Commissioners With copious extracts from the evidence, and illustrative engravings, (London: 1842), 19-59. ↵
- J. M. Mason, “Protection of Children,” The Westminster Review Vol. 36 (1841): 66. ↵
- Jane Humphries, “Short stature among coal-mining children: A comment,” Economic History Review 1, no. 3 (1997): 533. ↵
- Jane Humphries, “Short stature among coal-mining children: A comment,” Economic History Review 1, no. 3 (1997): 535. ↵
- Encyclopedia Britannica.com, December 2012, s.v. “Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of Shaftesbury,” by Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. ↵
- “Early Factory Legislation.” Parliament. UK. (April 9th, 2017). ↵
- J. M. Mason, “Protection of Children,” The Westminster Review Vol. 36 (1841); 45-47. ↵
98 comments
Rosa Robledo Martinez
Although I knew about child labor throughout my school years, but it’s always shocking to hear the stories. I honestly think it was a bad thing allowing kids to work in coal mines. I understand that back then social aspects were different then they are today, it’s crazy to think that as children we always played around with our toys or didn’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to us. The conditions that kids were in the mines caused a lot of damage to their health which can explain the mortality rate back then.
Breanna Perry
It is so unfortunate to learn that for 100 years the health of everyone that worked in the coal mines was disregarded. I can’t believe children that young were being put to work in such conditions, meanwhile, we were able to be free and careless as kids. The author did a good job of explaining the history and terminology of the coal mining jobs, as well as the conditions in which these children worked. I’m so thankful that the awareness of health and safety regulations ended the child labor in England.
Abigale Carney
I have heard many stories about child labor in foreign countries and even our own country in the past. It is so sad to hear what these children endured when working in these horrible conditions, working hours, and all with extremely low amounts of pay. It is crazy to compare children nowadays to children back then, because children back then were not treated like “children”. As someone else commented, it is very discouraging to me that this child labor abuse still occurs today, I hope we can find a way to end it very soon.
Jamie lennon
It is so sad to see these children as young as four working in these coal mine. I can’t even imagine how terrible it would be to work for up to 14 hours per day. Children got beaten up if they did not do the work properly or they fell asleep. These poor children were paid 5 times less than the adults were paid for the same job. Most of the time whole families worked in the coal mine. In the industrial revolution there was a high demand for coal so these poor children had to work.
Jamie lennon
It is very sad and thank you for this website
Cynthia Perez
Child labor in the coal mines is very tragic learning about especially since the kids, as young as they were, had chances of growing up with many health problems. Children already have weaker immune systems, so putting them in those conditions where they had to handle heavy equipment and inhalation of dust hinders them and creates inevitable health problems. Also, the fact that these kids were doing similar amounts of work to that of an adult as well working for what was up to fourteen hours a day with very little pay in comparison should be considered unjust and wrong in every way. Unfortunately there is still such a thing as child labor in other parts of the world today but it’s an ongoing process in order to put an end to this completely like we have from the industrial revolution.
Angely Noriega Baron
As I was reading through the article, I could not imagine the things these children had to go through. I remember playing with toys or riding on swings as a child and it makes me sad to read that most children in England spent half of their time working in labor. Reading the hours these children had to work for, especially, disheartens me. I can’t visualize how unsanitary it was to work with large amount of dust around. This was terrible for the children’s’ health due to the dust getting into their lungs.
Ilse Amaya
I’ve always heard stories about child labor, and read books about children working in the mines in Ireland, and the UK. Furthermore, learning more about their roles/jobs, and how young these kids were it breaks my heart. People have always cared about the money and would prefer to put the life of a child in danger in order to get the work done. I am completely against it, and although they passed the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842, people still do it in other parts of the world. As the article states people know their way around, and they need to be stopped.
Maria Garcia
This article was devastating to read because so many children were taken advantage of and suffered from so many health issues because of the working conditions. Starting kids to work at as young as 5 is heart breaking because at that age, they shouldn’t have any worries or responsibilities as such because they’re supposed to enjoy their childhood, not begin their adulthood at such a young age. Along with that being said, I never knew that deformations happened to the children due to certain jobs because of how they’d have to position their bodies.. absolutely devastating. Great article!
Engelbert Madrid
Child labor is one of the things that is still around in our world, and I wish that all children did not have to go through this type of suffering. Fortunately, there have been regulations that have stopped child labor in countries; however, developing countries struggle to stop this due to lack of education and economy. This article was overall informative and descriptive that helps readers understand more about child labor in England.