A column of large water pipes in a pit shaft, used to deliver pit water to the surface from a Colliery's Shaft Pumps.

The miners' name for a tunnel.

Sandwiches

A train of tubs or mine-cars - with or without a locomotive.   "Wuh need an empty set inbye, noo. This one's nearly full."

A noisy dangerous place at the surface where young lads had to pick stones and other rubbish from coal passing by them on the screens.

To have difficulty breathing, perhaps in the presence of an obnoxious gas!!!

A craftsman, usually a fitter, who specialized in the maintenance of everything in a mine shaft (except the high-voltage electric cables).

Shovel: a coal shull for a hewer; a stone shull (spade shaped, no sides) for a caunch man.

A colliery electrician (and potential website writer half a century later!)

A small, narrow, sharp piece of wood ... especially when it's stuck in your finger.  Aah!  I've got a Spelk.

Water Standage: a roadway or specially built structure used to temporarily store water before it is pumped further outbye by more pumps.

Responsibility written in law.  The Colliery Manager, Undermanagers, Unit Engineers & Unit Surveyor all have statutory resposibilities.
Failure to carry out these responsibilities can result in court proceedings, fines and imprisonment.

A short roadway connecting an intake roadway with a return roadway.  Ventilation short-circuits are prevented by two or more air doors.

Hydrogen Sulphide (H₂S).   So-called because of its characteristic smell - rotten eggs!

Several wooden boards placed high up across a roadway, M/G or T/G.  These barriers are piled up with a yellow, flour-like powder called stone dust - once bought from ICI.  Should there be an explosion, the barriers are designed to tip easily (in the rush of air) thus spilling their stone dust to form (hopefully) a dense barrier of inert powder that will prevent the passage of burning gases.

Sometimes called a caunch man, a stoneman mined rock (rather than coal) to form main roadways, mothergates & tailgates.

A roadway used to store materials for later use.

Very poor quality / bad air, usually with an unpleasant characteristic smell.

An extension of a shaft below the lowest working level.   Often used as a water standage to supply the main 'shaft to surface' pumps.

A low section of roadway, usually over a fairly short distance.   A place where water could accumulate.

A roadway taking used air away from the coal face - on its journey to the returns and eventually to the upcast shaft and out of the mine.

A person who, usually with the help of a pit pony, transported pit props, wooden planks, chocks etc. to wherever they were required.

The collective noun for a group of fitters as used by Wardley Colliery electricians in the late 1960s.  "A tiredness of fitters!"  [ Sorry lads. ]

A miner's two identity discs.  The first was given to the banksman on entering the cage (to descend) and the second on returning to bank.

19th century: young boys employed to open and shut ventilation doors underground.  They usually spent their shift alone and in the dark.

A section of roadway designated for men to walk along.

A wheeled container for carrying coal.

A senior member of the management, statutorily (by law) responsible for a section of the colliery, reporting directly to the Colliery Manager.

Unit: an individual colliery.  The Unit Electrical Engineer, Unit Mechanical Engineer & Unit Surveyor are senior members of the management.
They are each statutorily (by law) responsible for their respective departments at the colliery and report directly to the Colliery Manager.

The sealed shaft used to draw used air out of the mine.  The air travelled up the U/C shaft, through the colliery fan and out to atmosphere.

Almost, very nearly.

Men held up because something else has stopped the work - a broken conveyor belt, perhaps.

Also Wagonway: railway track.

The wall: short for longwall.  Another name for the coal face.

The roof is said to be weightin-on when it is heard creaking ominously!

The winding engine operator.   He raises/lowers the pit cages in response to matching signals from both banksman and onsetter.

A large chisel-like tool used to prise coal from the coal face - worked by compressed air piped inbye from the surface compressor house.

How are you?  Also a severe reprimand: "Dee it propply or yuh'll get wot fettle."  Vulgar: "Ah'd luv tuh give hor in the canteen wot fettle!"