The Staffordshire Thick Coal was a seam of coal unique to the Black Country and at Foxyard?s in Tipton, only a mile or so from the museum, the coal seam was recorded as over 50ft (15m) thick. It was made up of several different seams, each with their own name and different physical characteristics, with almost no rock or 'partings' between them. Thick coal is still occasionally found when open-cast mining or when land reclamation works are carried out but it would be very difficult to take people into any Thick Coal workings today.
'Into The Thick' is an underground experience created by the Black Country Museum to show how miners worked the Thick Coal and other seams in the Black Country in about 1850. It is a drift mine, with a sloping tunnel down which you can walk into a maze of roadways and working areas so that you can experience the underground conditions in a safe yet realistic way.
Once underground, in a timber-lined tunnel with the sound of water dripping from the roof, you meet 'lija Wedge, a miner of the 1850s, who leads you through the underground passages. Go out on site and discover what is what like to work as a miner in the Black Country.
| Reference: | 127 |
| Keywords: | Thick Coal Seam Experience Staffordshire 1850 BCLM MCOL |
| Archive Ref: | Guide Book 2001 |
| Updated: | 27/2/2002 13:47:48 |