Coal Mining and the Victorians
Wages
Although mining was hard work and dangerous, compared with other manual jobs working underground was relatively well paid. Families would work together in a team and the amount of money they earned depended on how much coal they brought up to the surface. The money would be paid to the collier who was ‘hewing’ or ‘getting’ the coal, who was usually the father. These wages were essential for a family’s survival, so despite working long hours, the children themselves did not get paid.
In old money:
12 pence (12d) = 1 shilling (1s)
20 shillings = 1 pound (£1)
or 240 pence = 1 pound
In today’s money:
100p = £1
£1 = 240d (old pence)
1p = 2.4d
5p = 1s
Suggested Activities for this Resource:
- What does this list of expenses tell you about each family?
- What expenses do these mining families have that your family does not?
- What do you notice about the cost for the house?
- Use the money converter at the National Archives website (see Related Links below) to work out how much the items bought by mining families would cost now.
- Create some money word problems using items on the expenses list. Swap your problems with someone else in your class.
- Find out what your family typically spends in a week. How does this compare with the expenses of a mining family?
- What do you think would have happened to a family’s earnings if the father became sick or was seriously injured and unable to work?
Learning article provided by:
National Coal Mining Museum for England |
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