Mining Jobs
Hewer - Reserved for the strongest men who had served their 'apprenticeship' as putters. These men worked at the coal face bringing down and removing the coal. A thin pick was used to undercut the coal then an explosive charge was detonated to bring down the coal which was then dug away to where the putters could remove it.
Putter - These strong young men loaded the coal brought down by the hewers into the tubs which were then pushed to the landings where they could be loaded onto the trolleys to be hauled away to the shift or entrance of the drift.
Pony Putter - Young boys moved onto this job after serving as trapper or rapper boys. They were in charge of a pony which they would hitch up to a set of full tubs and lead them back to the landing where the tubs would be taken up in the shaft in deep mines or dragged to the surface by a steam engine in drift mines. The pony putter would then hitch the pony to a set of empty tubs and take them to the workings.
Rapper Boy - As the name implies this was a job given to young boys when first working underground. They signalled the approach of a pony and tubs by signalling on a communication wire with a metal rapper.
Trapper - This was another job reserved for young boys new to the mine. Their job as to open the ventilation doors in the tunnels to allow the passage of men and ponies. It was a lonely job in the dark and damp of the mine.
Checkweighman - This was an important above ground job. The Checkweighman was responsible for verifying the weight od coal in each tub and ensuring it was credited to the men who had hewn the coal. He was paid by the mine owner but was elected into this job by the miners themselves and could not then be removed from that post unless elected out by the men.