| You will gain quite a lot of general information about domestic solid fuel from browsing our web pages, for instance the range of fuels available and the kinds of appliances that are used to heat homes with solid fuel today. But since your interest in coal and solid fuel is probably not limited to the domestic market, our aim is to provide you with some simple information about coal in general and to list for you other websites or places of interest that you can visit that will encompass the history, mining and electricity generation side of the industry as well. | |
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At the end of the page, we include a short QUIZ. The answers can be found using the information from our own literature and some of the webpages mentioned below and can be used as a basis for further discussion and study. |
Coal – How it is formed, how it is mined and its uses |
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concise information can be found on all of the above topics in the UK
Coal plc website www.ukcoal.com. |
UK Coal Fields For a geological map of the British Isles, go to the website for the Confederation of United Kingdom Coal Producers www.coalpro.co.uk |
UK Deep Mines (operating in 2007) |
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| For details of opencast sites go to the Coal Authority website www.coal.gov.uk |
Coal Statistics For statistics on the UK coal industry - output and usage, imports and exports and prices, visit the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy_stats/ For information on manpower and outputs from UK mines also visit the Coal Authority website: www.coal.gov.uk |
Coal Worldwide For worldwide information on coalfields, mining, use of coal in electricity generation and clean coal technology, including carbon sequestration, visit the website of the World Coal Institute: www.wci-coal.com or the UK Coal website: www.ukcoal.com and the E H Bennett website: www.ehbennett.co.uk |
Visit A Coal Mine |
| Health
and safety concerns preclude visits of the general public to coal mines
that are producing coal, however you can visit the following museums which
include a trip to the actual coal face. Schools parties are well catered
for at these sites: National Coal Mining Museum, Wakefield Website: www.ncm.org.uk Tel: 01924 848806 Big Pit, Blaenafon Website: www.nmgw.ac.uk/bigpit Tel: 01495 790311 Scottish Mining Museum Trust, Newtongrange, Midlothian Website: www.scottishminingmuseum.com Tel: 0131 663 7519. |
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The Role of Coal in the History of the United Kingdom |
There is a considerable amount of information on this subject on the UK Coal website: www.ukcoal.com Prior to privatization, British Coal commissioned a History of the British Coal Industry in five volumes, up to 1982. These were published by Oxford University Press. The final volume covers nationalization, 1946 to 1982. Below is
a selection of places to visit which either feature coal mining or the
lives of miners in the past. This is not exhaustive: And
why not take a ride on a steam train? |
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Archives |
| County record
offices will hold various archives in coal mining or former coal mining
areas. Several universities hold archives relating to coal and mining. Details
of these are best sourced from bibliographies etc in academic texts.
Specific
archives are held by the following but are generally of limited access.
Please contact prior to any visit. |
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Visit the Coal Authority website at www.coal.gov.uk for information on various new technologies. For information on coal and power generation - World Coal Institute www.wci-coal.com They have published a document entitled “The Role of Coal as an Energy Source”, obtainable from them - Tel: 020 824 66611. Also visit the website of The Confederation of United Kingdom Coal Producers, where you will find various responses to UK Government Consultation papers on the role of coal in power generation www.coalpro.co.uk |
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The European Commission’s Coal website gives information on clean coal technology and papers about the role of coal in the European Union. www.europa.eu.int/comm/energy/en/fa_13_en.html For solid fuel in the domestic context, the following documents are available from the Solid Fuel Association - Tel: 01773 835 40
* Photographs courtesy of Tower Colliery |
COAL QUIZ |
| Domestic
Coal Industry 1. What do we mean by the term “Carrying coals to Newcastle”? Here’s a clue and visit the www.ukcoal.com Click here for a pop-up image of a list of the cargoes of coal for sale in London on 29th December 1826. |
2. Make sure you have got a copy of our fuels leaflet (downloadable from our literature page). Compare this leaflet with some advertisements taken from a London newspaper of the 3rd June 1882. Click here for the pop-up image |
What
are the differences in fuels available? Notice
that in 1882 they are using the locations or names of the pits that the
coal comes from. Do we still do this today? 3. Using our Fuels leaflet again, name as many fuels as you can that can be burnt on an open fire if you are living in a smoke control area? 4. Why is it important to have your chimney swept at least once a year and twice if you are burning coal or wood? (Look at our safety and wood pages). Coal Mining, Power Generation and Industrial uses of Coal 5. Name the top coal producing country in the World. How does this compare with output from the UK coal mines? Visit the World Coal Institute website: www.wci-coal.com and DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/dukes 6.
What share of the power generation market does coal presently hold in
the UK? Visit www.coalpro.co.uk
www.dti.gov.uk www.defra.gov.uk/environment
and the European Commission coal website: www.europa.eu.int/comm/energy/en/fa_13_en.html |
