Address of the Coal Miners of the North Staffordshire District - A notice from the Enoch Wood Scrapbook
This notice invites us to explore the hardships suffered by North Staffordshire's coal miners in 1831 - when their early trade unions were still not widely recognised.
Employers often intimidated organised ...
Address to the Workmen in the Parishes of Burslem and Wolstanton - Document from the Enoch Wood Scrapbook
The Truck System
This was a system whereby the workers were forced to accept goods in lieu of payment.
They would be payed in tokens, which could only be spent at the company store or 'Tommy Shop.'
The ...
Armitage Railway Station
Station staff pictured outside the public entrance to Armitage Railway Station during the national railway strike of July and August 1911. This had been the first national strike of railway workers in ...
Brother Potters!
The early 1800s brought hard times for potters in Stoke-on-Trent. Costly wars disrupted trade abroad, while poor harvests caused hunger at home.
"One word with you, afore yo gon to do any moore mischif..."
Government ...
Cases of Distress and Oppression, in the Staffordshire Potteries; By Labourers Wages being paid in Truck - Booklet from the Enoch Wood Scrapbook
The Truck System
This was system whereby the workers were forced to accept goods in lieu of payment.
They would be payed in tokens, which could only be spent at the company store or Tommy Shop.
The ...
Coal getting, Longton
Coal getting during the 1926 miners' strike. Photograph taken by J.A.Lovatt on the outskirts of Longton.
This photograph was probably taken from the East Vale /Meir Hay area of Longton. It’s the ...
Coal pickers at Wimblebury Colliery, Cannock
Photograph of coal pickers at Wimblebury Colliery, Cannock during the 1921 Coal Miner's Strike.
Wimblebury Colliery opened in 1872. In 1892 it was connected to the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company's ...
Coal Pickers Strike, West Cannock 2, Hednesford
Local miners, who were on strike, with their families illegally picking coal off the colliery waste tips. The strike lasted for 6 months.
West Cannock Colliery Company had 5 sites:
No.1 plant (pit) ...
Coal pickers, Wimblebury
Following the Great War (1914-18) the British government returned the coal mines to private ownership on 31 March 1921 having taken direct control of the mines in 1916. The mine owners demanded that miners' ...
Coal Strike 1912. "Coal Getting." Photographed by William Blake.
Photograph of people picking surface coal from a steep quarry edge during the strike of 1912.
Coal Strike, Longton
A temporary tramway during the Coal Strike of 1926.
Coal strike, Longton
Photograph taken during the Coal Strike of 1926, showing a temporary tramway.
Coal Strike, March 1912. "Digging Coal out of Old Pit Mounds". Photographed by William Blake.
"Digging Coal out of Old Pit Mounds". People forage for coal during the strike during March 1912.
Coal Strike, March 1912. "Men Cutting Surface Coal". Photographed by William Blake.
Photograph taken during the national coal strike of 1912. The men are foraging for fuel by cutting surface coal. Taken at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Coal Strike, March 1912. Coal Pickers at Florence Colliery, Longton, Stoke-On-Trent. Photographed by William Blake.
View of Florence Colliery, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
People scavenge for bits of coal during the coal strike of 1912.
Named after the Duke of Sutherland's daughter, the pit was opened ...
Fanny Deakin, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Fanny Deakin was a Labour then Communist councillor for Newcastle-under-Lyme. She fought for better maternity care and equality after growing up poverty stricken in Silverdale. Over the course of her ...
Hanley November 11 1793 - Document for the Enoch Wood Scrapbook
Food shortage in the Potteries
Hand-written notice calling for pottery workers to gather at Hanley Market Hall.
An additional note written in pencil at the top of the page indicates that the notice ...
Huzza!! Kidcrew Again! Kidcrew Again! An appeal for blackleg workers from the Enoch Wood scrapbook
In the early 1830s early trade unions faced a struggle to gain the recognition of employers, and their members were often treated harshly.
An appeal for knobsticks
A 'gentleman of the pit' in this ...