ABSTRACT
Until the outbreak of the First World War the British coal industry continued to enjoy a period of almost uninterrupted expansion. Thus, during the period 1884 to 1913, the British coal industry presents a contradictory picture of rapid expansion accompanied by rising costs of production. Against the general background of the British coal industry, developments in Derbyshire during the period 1880-1914 can be seen in perspective. The fact that neither of these coal-owners foresaw the growing importance of by-product coke ovens is illustrative of the backwardness of the British coal industry in this field. Gladstone's second ministry fell in June, 1885, and no further attempts were made to deal with the railways until he returned in the following February, with Mundella as President of the Board of Trade. III The outward signs of the depression were nowhere more apparent than in the coal industry.
