> I may have missed it but how long did a coal store have to stand before
> combustion started. I realise it would depend on various factors, but I
> read once that many coal burning ships had perpetual problems with
> spontaneous combustion and controlling it became a way of life. I may be
> wrong but did not the Titanic in its tragically short life suffer the same
> problem?
> Walter Bareham
An important medieval coal mine at St Etienne in Central France burned for a
couple of centuries at least. Its name was Le Grand Brulé. There are a
couple of decent works about this (in French) :
M. Bédouin, Le Patrimoine Minier Stéphanois, Guide de Promenade, 3 vols.
(St.-Etienne, 1983-5) ; important bibliography.
E. Brossard, Etudes Historiques sur les Concessions des Mines de Houille
dans le Département de la Loire (St.-Etienne, 1887).
P. Guillaume, 'La Rédévance Tréfoncière et les Propriétaires Fonciers dans
le Bassin de la Loire', in Actes du 88e Congrès National des Sociétés
Savantes, St.-Etienne, 1964 (Paris, 1966).
E. Leseure, Histoire des Mines du Département de la Loire (St.-Etienne,
1901)
Ian Cowburn
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