by Elizabeth Whaley

Perhaps one of the most important events in the life of this small community would be the advent of opencast coal mining.

Men were no longer expected to crawl into narrow seams miles below the surface to dig at the coalface.

Vast machines gouged the earth creating mountains, digging ravines and exposing the ribbons of black gold.

New skills were needed, drivers for the vast machines, lorries for transport, mechanics for the breakdowns.

Old men shook their heads, young men accepted the challenge and the women, as usual, got on with everyday living, fighting the dust, the dirt and the house.

But as with all things, time passes and the green hillside has been restored. All traces of opencast have gone and only in small pockets of untouched woodland can you find evidence of the old drifts.