Women and children in the early part of the nineteenth century.
Men hewed, picked and cut at the coal face, and women and children pulled the coal out on sledges.
Often women and children were not given a proper wage, it was left to the miners to pay them.
Conditions were appalling down the mines.
Throughout the early part of Victorian times there were various Acts of Parliament pushed through, by concerned people like Lord Shaftesbury, to set a minimum age limit for child workers and improve conditions.
By th end of Victorian times miners were a formidable force - proud of a long tradition of dangerous work and very aware of their importance to the economy.