John Common,blacksmith married Mary Rankin 1849/What do colliery blacksmiths do?

[pityackafromblyth]

The colliery blacksmith I knew didn't work do the farriery work with the ponies, he was definitely the other kind of blacksmith described in the link to Big Pit posted by Conahy Calling who spent his time making and repairing tools, metal fixings etc other

I stand to be corrected,Mabel, as I thought shoes for the ponies would have been one of his jobs, and that fashioning other metal fixings, etc. would also have been in his daily workload.
And, re Stan's post, subsequent to mine, that is the newspaper report I came across.

Delve into Durham Mining Museum contents - you never know what you will discover.  As I said I wasted ( 090 minutes earlier today, but I came across a photograph of workers at a local pit in the 1950s, and there was a neighbour from 3 doors away. !!!!

[Durhamstatts]

It is amazing how one site leads to another.  Durham Mining museum a top tip. Many thanks.  It seems alot of the coal seams at Killingworth were abandoned between 1876 and 1884, so I wonder if that is why the family leave the area (assuming they were there!)  for the booming river banks. Its a lovely theory, but is it credible???

Off to follow up the blacksmith links above.

Thanks again
 

[Malcommon]

Hi,

My Great Great Grandfather was a Colliery Blacksmith and coincidentally his name was John Common and he originated from Bedlington ( Netherton ) where his father James was an " Engineman".

John was a Blacksmith at the "Forster pit " at New Delaval which is Newsham on the West end of Blyth.

In his day they would have done some work for the making of Horse shoes but were very heavily involved in the manufacturing of all sorts of stuff such as brackets and spill plates and conveyor points and maintenance of the " Cage " and the heapstead and shaft.

I was a Colliery electrician and the shoes were made by one particular man who had a little book which contained the dimensions of the shoe to fit every pony at the pit,  the horse keeper would phone him up and say that " Tiny " needed a new shoe for his right front leg and Bob Would look in his book and then make it to match and then go down to the underground stables and fit it.

There were of course no fires underground and so no forge's.

My John Common married Frances Jennings and he died in Blyth.

regards Malcolm Common.