Seacoaler Ponies

The waste from Ellington colliery in Northumberland was always, by one means or another, tipped into the sea. This waste contained a certain amount of coal; the waste rock and the lighter coal were separated by the action of the sea, and tides deposited the coal back on the beach. The soft nature of the local beaches meant that collecting this coal with vehicles was hazardous, and the traditional way of working with horses and carts survived. Only in recent years, with the demand for the coal dying out, and now the closure of Ellington collierly, has the practice just about finished.
I have a large portfolio of images of the seacoalers, and further information; an exhibition of 30 of these images is available through the National Coal Mining Museum for England.
See further seacoaler images in the General section.