Hard Times

[sallyyorks]

I have mentioned this before in other RC topics, but children as young as 3 years old had been working in West Riding collierys. It is recorded in the Royal Commission 1842

[BillyF]

Oh my goodness !! How could they not see it was totally wrong.

[sallyyorks]

Oh my goodness !! How could they not see it was totally wrong.

I suppose it was either work or starve.

There are instances in the 1842 commission of children working underground from from 5 in the morning till 10 at night. One child, who worked these hours, was given nothing to drink during the whole shift and also at times had worked barefoot

Coal mines were very numerous at the time, in all the industrial districts and even in areas you might not expect to see them

The commission, which was split into districts or counties, took evidence from the children themselves. It is very detailed and included names, ages, height, weight and also illustrations of the children at work. It also includes other industries like cotton, wool, flax industrial mill work, brick works, chimney sweeps and so on.

I've read it before online and I'm just trying to find a link to the whole report, which is more like a book, now. (Stans link is an extract for the Durham area, but the commission was countrywide.)

Local history websites often have a section of the report for their own area

[BillyF]

My husband`s ancestors were from the Welsh valleys, mines of all descriptions there. However, he`s not interested in doing any research into them, all he knows is that one grandfather was a lamplighter.

[stanmapstone]

I've read it before online and I'm just trying to find a link to the whole report, which is more like a book, now. (Stans link is an extract for the Durham area, but the commission was countrywide.)

Local history websites often have a section of the report for their own area

The whole 2,000 page report is not available on line, however there are 12 images from the report at https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/report-on-child-labour-1842

Stan

[BillyF]

Thankyou. I`ve taken a quick look but will read it later.

[dowdstree]

There was a dreadful disaster at Silkstone Colliery near Barnsley on 4th July 1838. A nearby stream burst its banks after torrential rain and 26 children (boys and girls) who were working there drowned.

The children are buried in the local graveyard.

There are various accounts of this online.

I visited there in the 1980's and the memory of seeing the graves and monument stays with me to this day.

Thank God we have moved on and children are not exploited in this way.

Dorrie

[sallyyorks]

There was a dreadful disaster at Silkstone Colliery near Barnsley on 4th July 1838. A nearby stream burst its banks after torrential rain and 26 children (boys and girls) who were working there drowned.

The children are buried in the local graveyard.

There are various accounts of this online.

I visited there in the 1980's and the memory of seeing the graves and monument stays with me to this day.

Thank God we have moved on and children are not exploited in this way.

Dorrie

Yes, this was the Huskar Pit disaster (working the Silkstone coal seam). This disaster raised public awareness on conditions in the industrial districts and was partly why a Royal Commission into child labour (1842) was called for.

It's amazing to think really that when we look at the 1841 census, what we are seeing is many many child labourers on those pages and some even younger than the children listed below

Huskar disaster
The boys who died were-

George Burkinshaw aged 10 years.

James Burkinshaw aged 7 years, brothers

Isaac Wright aged 12 years.

Amos Wright aged 8 years, brothers.

James Clarkson aged 16 years.

Francis Hoyland aged 13 years,.

William Allick aged 12 years.

Samuel Horne aged 10 years.

Eli Hutchinson aged 9 years.

John Simpson aged 9 years.

George Barnett aged 9 years.

George Lamb aged 8 years.

William Walmseley aged 8 years.

John Gothard aged 8 years.

James Turton aged 10 years.

 

The girls who died were-

Catherine Garnett aged 8 years.

Hannah Webster aged 13 years.

Elizabeth Carr aged 13 years.

Anne Moss aged 9 years.

Elizabeth Hollin aged 15 years.

Hannah Taylor aged 17 years.

Ellen Parker aged 15 years.

Mary Sellars aged 10 years.

Sarah Jukes aged 8 years.

Sarah Newton aged 8 years

and Elizabeth Clarkson aged 11 years, who was buried at the feet of her brother.

[sallyyorks]

I've read it before online and I'm just trying to find a link to the whole report, which is more like a book, now. (Stans link is an extract for the Durham area, but the commission was countrywide.)

Local history websites often have a section of the report for their own area

The whole 2,000 page report is not available on line, however there are 12 images from the report at https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/report-on-child-labour-1842

Stan

Thanks Stan
It's a shame it isn't available online because the children in the Royal Commission are often named and this would be of interest to family tree researchers.
Also would like to see the various sanitation  reports online too. This names streets and gives detailed descriptions of the conditions. If we found a street where we know our ancestors lived at the time, we could get a good idea of their circumstances