This is a rather interesting piece of poetry but i have to say it is
sentimental rubbish.
I currently live about a mile and a half from the pit where Patience Kershaw
worked,Boothtown pit near Halifax. I am also very familar with the souce
material for this poem which is the 1842 enquiery into the employment of
women and children in mines. Here the commisioner Samuel Scriven who
interviewed Patience considered her "ignorant and filthy". Having looked at
the reports of the other commisioners i can say that Scriven was a very fair
judge of charater and rarely made such harsh comments. Patience claimed to
hurry corves (move tubs of coal) a mile from the working face of the entrnce
of the mine however the local topograpgy and geology means that this was
impossible. There are numerous other flaws in Patience's testomony but most
historians (and clearly poets)find it easier to romaticice the harsh working
conditions and therefore continue to demonise the mining industry.
Martin Roe
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