Life as a miner is one of the hardest careers to work in with extreme conditions from explosives, dampness and of course the sheer darkness of below ground. In this documentary we hear spoken word and folk songs from the miners of Ashington Colliery in Northumberland, England. Men speak of the hardships of this occupation and life below ground.

Miners speak of working life dealing with explosives, accidents on the job, workplace strikes and real fact of those who die in the mines. The lack of death inquest and frustration with management. The Ashington Colliery mine created many jobs as well as stories and folk songs, which we hear throughout this documentary. 

The owner of this mine, the Duke of York said no pubs should be built on his lands and expected the men not to consume alcohol but the men of the mine got around this with the creation of twelve workingmens clubs.

Northumberland holds a vast amount of communities from fishing, farming and mining families where dialect and ballads change greatly over a short distance. At the Ashington Colliery in England, one of England’s most famous towns known for its coal mining. For generations Ashington Colliery provided work and gave the town its identity. Life below ground for many of these men was tough labourise work, injuries became part of working life, floods, accidents and deaths often occurred.

Presented and Produced by Pat Feeley

First broadcast 17th May 1978

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