Introduction
In 1770, Arthur Young published his diary of a six months’ tour of the north of England. It included a visit to Newcastle, where he found a busy town prospering on the twin industries of the coal mine and the ironworks. Here, he gives his London readers a taste of the noisy, dirty but profitable business by the Tyne, and notes how the city’s fortunes rose and fell with the fortunes of war.
THE people employed in the coal-mines are prodigiously numerous, amounting to many thousands; the earnings of the men are from 1s to 4s a day, and their firing.* The coal waggon roads, from the pits to the water, are great works, carried over all sorts of inequalities of ground, so far as the distance of 9 or 10 miles. The track of the wheels are marked with pieces of timber let into the road, for the wheels of the waggons to run on, by which means one horse is enabled to draw, and that with ease, 50 or 60 bushels of coals.* There are many other branches of business that have much carriage in a regular track, that greatly wants this improvement, which tends so considerably to the lowering the expenses of carriage.*
About five miles from Newcastle are the ironworks, late Crowley’s,* supposed to be the greatest manufactory of the kind in Europe. Several hundred hands are employed in it, insomuch that 20,000l a year is paid in wages. They earn from 1s to 2s 6s a day; and some of the foremen so high as 200l a year.*
* That is, their domestic heating allowance.
* The typical coal wagon of the Northumberland and Durham coalfield was the chaldron, named after a measure of volume and later of weight elsewhere called a chalder. A House of Commons committee in June 1800, reporting on the state of the coal trade, treated 15 keels (another local measure) as equivalent to 120 Newcastle chaldrons or 232½ London or Winchester chalders — after years of gradual rises, in 1695 the Newcastle chaldron had been fixed by law at 72 heaped bushels or 53cwt (2½ tons). In London the chalder was 36 bushels; a bushel of coal weighs about 80lb. The wooden ‘Tyneside roads’ enabled one Geordie horse to pull wagons anything up to twice the size of those drawn by his London cousins.
* In 1814, Northumberland miner and engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) designed the first of his pioneering steam locomotives for use on the colliery railways at Killingworth, running on metal rails. By 1844, there were over 2,000 miles of railways in the country.
* Corrected from ‘Crawley’s.’ Staffordshire-born Sir Ambrose Crowley III (?1657-1713), a London-based steel and shipping entrepreneur, established an ironworks at Sunderland early in the 1680s, but moved his business to Winlaton in 1691 and expanded into Swalwell in 1707. His son John inherited the firm in 1713; after John died in 1728, his widow Theodosia brought in Isaac Millington as partner and the firm became Crowley, Millington & Co..
* According to ‘Measuring Worth’, that would be equivalent to about £28,000 in 2018. Sir Ambrose expected a return on his investment: he drew up ‘The Rules of the Crowley Iron’ to encourage good time-keeping and self-discipline, and established a programme for supporting the sick and the elderly (‘Crowley’s Poor’), educational resources and even a Crowley’s Court for adjusting disputes. His employees were consequently fiercely independent, hard-working, hard-playing and hard-fighting men (and women) with unusual powers of oratory and skilled in weapon-making who regarded themselves as guardians of social justice. See Crowley’s Crew.
Précis
In 1770, Arthur Young published his recollections of a recent tour of northern England. His diary included remarks on the coal and iron industries in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He was particularly struck by the ‘Tyneside roads,’ which used wooden rails to help horses draw waggons twice the size of London’s, and by the generous wages earned by the ironworkers. (57 / 60 words)
In 1770, Arthur Young published his recollections of a recent tour of northern England. His diary included remarks on the coal and iron industries in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He was particularly struck by the ‘Tyneside roads,’ which used wooden rails to help horses draw waggons twice the size of London’s, and by the generous wages earned by the ironworkers.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, despite, just, may, otherwise, until, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Post Box.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
