ABSTRACT
Of the coalfields under review in this volume, the one which departed most profoundly from 'traditional' community patterns was Lancashire. Across much of the county, mining was pursued not in geographically remote settlements dominated by a single mode of work, but in large urban areas in which occupational diversity was the norm and where colliers were integrated into a wider industrial workforce. In 1911, 67 per cent of Lancashire miners resided in areas where the pit accounted for fewer than 30 per cent of all jobs; the equivalent figures for South Wales and North East England, the two largest fields by output at that time, were 19 and 16 per cent, respectively. The contrast carried over into individual neighbourhoods: Bill Naughton recalled street corners in Bolton during the 1920s populated by colliers, mill hands, and foundry workers.1 More significantly, the span of a 'typical' Lancastrian mining career encompassed more than pit work. Many of those raised in districts where coal and cotton coincided gained their first work experience in local textile mills; entry into the pit was delayed until their later teenage years. For some, the mill provided a more permanent source of employment. A survey of continuation classes across the county in 1912, revealed that almost one-third of children with fathers in mining were employed in the textile trade. Over time, the tendency to explore alternative job avenues increased, so that, during the 1920s, miners were observed to be seeking work for their sons in mills or in 'sheltered' public sector work.2
