Lamps like this would probably have been used in South Caradon mine from the mid-1800s when the lamps were invented, right through to the closure of these mines at the end of the nineteenth century. In fact, lamps exactly like this were used in coal mines in this country until very recently.

My Dad, when he was working ‘down the pit’ in the 1950s had one but a ‘relighter’ so that if the flame went out, he could re-ignite it without taking it apart. That was important because it was the fact that the flame burned in a chamber that was oxygenated through two layers of gauze that made the lamp safe in such a dangerous environment. In fact, the lamps were lit above ground and then a seal put on the opening part of the lamp. If a miner came back from a shift with a broken seal, he could be sacked for gross misconduct. Why such a draconian punishment? Because naked flames in mines are highly dangerous because gas collects in pockets around the tunnel structure – remember those stories about canaries? Well, they are real. The pit bursar at the colliery where my Dad worked bred canaries as gas detectors (in fact, they were only ‘made redundant’ from British coal mines in 1986) and the ‘Davy Lamp’ like this one was regarded as one of the most significant safety improvement in deep mines to prevent explosions.

Strangely, miners were still routinely searched as they went underground for cigarettes and matches because, despite the obvious risks, many tried to take their cigarettes down the pit anyway, endangering not only themselves, but their peers too.

The hook on the top of the lamp was attached to a belt or belt hook so the owner could use both hands and still carry the lamp.

It’s difficult to know how extensively these were used in South Caradon because surprisingly our research shows very little documented evidence about how the mines were worked and the conditions that miners worked in. There may even have been self-employed miners working with their own tools and equipment so, the luxury of a lamp like this might well have been out of the reach of many. Certainly in Carnglaze the quarrymen used a single tallow candle to light their work environment but there was no gas there – I wonder if miners in Caradon took risks by using tallow candles rather than these expensive lamps?

This lamp is our Christmas Pressie from my folks who insisted on it being opened yesterday (the last time we will see them before Christmas) in front of them so they could see our reaction to it. Our reaction is of complete delight – the lamp is beautiful and it will be installed in a miner’s cottage very soon.

Thank you Mum and Dad – it’s wonderful. We love it – in fact, we fought over who got the pleasure of photographing it today!!! (And I know DMs pic would have been better – it would have been straight and would have included the whole lamp…..well, or only a small part of it, but I’m not as good at this as he is.)

Coal mining in the UK is all but gone – only 9,000 people are employed in the industry in this country and of them, only 6,500 in deep mines, compared to more than 700,000 in the 1940s. It’s cheaper to buy our coal from other countries than to continue to dig out our own.

BUT there are still people dying in mining accidents around the world – 166 in a mine in China in November and 33 in a neighbouring mine there this month. In fact, reports from China suggest that even though the official death toll in the first nine months of this year is ‘only’ (sic) 4,500 or so, that the figure could be as high as 20,000 in a year. Statistics like that cause a chill in my heart. My grandfather’s death underground, and my own Dad’s underground accident, where my Mum didn’t know if he was alive or dead were a long time ago. Surely the mining industry should have learned from this? Surely these sorts of stats ought to be a thing of the past?

Not much, if any, of our UK coal comes from China. According to the DTi, the places where we import our coal from are Australia, Columbia, South Africa, Poland and the USA and roughly half of what we use is imported.

I am puzzled though as to why we as a nation don’t embrace new technologies such as wind farms producing our energy when it’s clean, renewable and most of all people don’t have to die hundred of feet underground (wherever in the world) to produce it? We have wind farms in Cornwall already that are producing energy for us. I wonder if the people who so vociferously object to the planning applications for new wind farms around the country would feel the same if they thought more about the conditions that miners work in and the danger to human life.