14 August 1673: A retired coal miner, unable to live from carding wool, decides to return to a pit at Royds Hall (Bradford)
Oliver Heywood. 1883. The Rev. Oliver Heywood, B.A., 1630-1702, Vol. 3/4. Ed. J. Horsfall Turner. Bingley: T. Harrison. Get it:
.Excerpt
A poor man that hath been a collier 40 years, having carded wool for his living, upon August 14, 1673, and got but two pence that day, said “Nothing is got with this working, I’ll into the coal pit again tomorrow, and I’ll never come up again.” In the morning he went to the coal pit belonging to Mr Rooks at Rhodes Hall, they let him down in a scoop or basket, there being a piece of wood at the other end of the rope to poise it. When he was near the bottom, the piece of wood slipped out, fell down upon him and killed him. He was taken up dead, though no wound appeared on him.
To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.
Abbreviations:
- ER: East Riding
- GM: Greater Manchester
- NR: North Riding
- NY: North Yorkshire
- SY: South Yorkshire
- WR: West Riding
- WY: West Yorkshire
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Original
A poor man that hath been a collier 40 years, having carded wool for his living, upon August 14, 1673, and got but two pence that day, said “Nothing is got with this working, I’ll into the coal pit again tomorrow, and I’ll never come up again.”
In the morning he went to the coal pit belonging to Mr Rooks at Rhodes-hall, they let him down in a scoop or basket, there being a piece of wood at the other end of the rope to poise it. When he was near the bottom, the piece of wood slipped out, fell down upon him and killed him. He was taken up dead, though no wound appeared on him.
120 words.
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