COAL

In the 12^thC coal started to be mined more.

The Coal Exchange

The Coal Exchange opened in 1849. The Victorian Society waged a campaign to preserve it but did not succeed. The building was demolished in 1963.

Location: 96 Lower Thames Street, EC3R 6DL (orange, brown)

See Also: HERITAGE Lost London

Website: www.victoriansociety.org.uk

Coal Holes

Coal was often stored in basement cellars that were located under pavements in front of houses. The coal was placed in them through coal holes.

The Coal Hole pub's name continues that of a now-gone establishment that was named after a coal wharf.

Location: The Coal Hole, 91-92 Strand, WC2R 0DW (blue, purple)

See Also: STREET FURNITURE

Website: www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/london/thecoalholestrandlondon

Coal Tax Posts

London is surrounded by a series of white posts that carry the coat of arms of the City of London. These mark the edge of the zone in which the City was entitled to levy its coal tax, which was put in place following the Great Fire of 1666 to finance the rebuilding of St Paul s Cathedral. Over the period 1666-1723 over 740,000 was raised from a tax on sea-borne coal that was brought into London. They may often be located by thoroughfares by which bulky goods were imported into London, such as canals and rivers. They were put up during the early years of Queen Victoria's reign and are kept in good repair.

Location: St Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's Churchyard, EC4M 8AD; The White Post pub (demolished), Gravesend; Bumble Green, Waltham Abbey (woods); Harefield near the hospital; Biggin Hill; New Addington; Epsom. (purple, turquoise)

Website: www.stpauls.co.uk

The London Coal Post Society

Website: www.coaldutyposts.org.uk/sources/booksandartsl

Coal Wealth

Those landowners whose estates lay above mineable seams of coal could enjoy an income that far surpassed that of those who had to rely their rent rolls.

See Also: THE COUNTESS's TRAVAILS

Elizabeth Montagu

Chimney sweeps and Elizabeth Montagu.

The bluestocking Elizabeth Montagu increased her husband's wealth by astutely managing his Northumbrian coal interests.

See Also: BLUESTOCKINGS

Colliers

It would a week to unload a single collier. In 1852 hydraulic cranes were installed at Limehouse Basin. They sped up the process considerably.

Location: Limehouse Basin, E14 7JZ

Seacoal

In 1733 the River Fleet was arched over between Holborn Bridge and Fleet Bridge. Farringdon Street was built over the watercourse's section north of Ludgate Hill in order to provide a venue where the Fleet Market could be held. Inland, the river has left its mark in terms of local street names - Old Seacoal Lane recalls how ships from the coalmining region of north-eastern England had been brought upstream to unload their cargo.

Location: Old Seacoal Lane, c.EC4M 7LD (orange, red)

David Backhouse 2024