Description:'Charcoal Jack', an itinerant charcoal burner sitting outside his hovel, a simple shelter made out of a framework of wooden poles covered with turf. This somewhat damaged and faded photograph was taken near Whiston in north Staffordshire. With him are some of the tools of his trade: a barrows, sometimes known as a 'mare', a windbreak and a long handled rake used to uncover the charcoal once burning was complete.
Charcoal is made by heating pieces of wood in a pit, clamp or furnace where air is restricted in order to slow the rate of burning. It produces almost pure black carbon which burns at a high heat without producing smoke. In Staffordshire it was used for centuries particularly in the production of iron and glass. Charcoal burning was a highly skilled craft and the clamp had to be watched day and night, hence the charcoal burner would live on site during the process, which could take up to ten days. Charcoal burning largely disappeared during the first half of the 20th century.