Another shot from Doncaster, this time of part of a massive new mural titled 'Future’s Past and Present' and found on the walls of the rear of buildings across the dual carriageway road near the front of the railway station. This extract from the mural shows a coal miner with his pit pony, and below that white roses, the symbol of Yorkshire.
Coal mining was a major industry throughout South Yorkshire, with mines around Doncaster being developed in the early 20th century. For many years the pit pony was an important element of the mining labour force. They were first used in British mines around 1750, and at the peak of their use in 1913 there were around 70,000. Their numbers declined, particularly after the Second World War, and by 1984 there were only 55 being used. Probably the last pit pony to work underground in a British coal mine, was retired from Pant y Gasseg, near Pontypool, in May 1999.
In shaft mines, ponies were normally stabled underground and fed on a diet with a high proportion of chopped hay and maize, coming to the surface only during the colliery's annual holiday. In slope and drift mines, the stables were usually on the surface near the mine entrance.
I clearly remember in the late 1960s seeing the pit ponies from Manvers Colliery, near where my mum lived, being out a the field for the 2 week holiday period, and feeling how sad it was that they spent almost their entire life underground.
All the coal mines around Doncaster have been closed, but I rather like this glimpse of the past remembering a lost industry.
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Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I haven't managed to plan a day visit to Doncaster yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing all the new photo opportunities there.
Ian
Thank you Vesna. I still haven't had chance to go back and take more photos.
Ian