Normanby Local History Group - Document Display

Normanby Ironstone Miners 1888

(photo by unknown provided by Joan Outhwaite)

[Point cursor at the person in photo above for a pop-up showing their name as below!]
Names of known miners left to right -
    Front row: 1.’Chick’ Handford 2.William Barker 3.unknown 4.’Friday’ Bulmer 5.unknown 6.Markham
    Back row (standing): 1.Tommy Housam 2.unknown 3.Robert Smith 4.unknown 5.Cuthbert 6.unknown 7.Dick Wallace

The extra names above and the extract below are from the back cover of the booklet "Cleveland Ironstone Mining" by John S Owen published by Peter Tuffs for the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum in 2007.   This also illustrated another copy of this photograph.

"Normanby Ironstone Miners going to Work
This mine know locally as "Johnny Munday's" from the name of the mine manager. The mine had closed by 1900.
This was the age of candle lighting for the miners. In their working places, candles could be positioned in a piece of clay, and with experience, even the time could be told by the rate of burning. While travelling to and from their work, the candle was carried in a "midge" (a cut open tin can) to protect the flame from air currents.
Other workmen, pony drivers and deputies frequently used oil lamps."

The miner named as Markham in the above photo is probably James Markham as the only entry for a Markham ironstone miner found in the 1891 census in this area was for a James Markham age 32 an ironstone miner from Peasenholm, Suffolk.
The census record of James & his wife Elizabeth's family included a son David age 9 born in Middlesbrough. Sadly the Normanby War Memorial records this David Markham as one of the men killed in the Great War 1914-1918.
For more information on the mines see Article - "Normanby Ironstone Mine"