I would not rule out the following possibility with respect to the fairly
widespread use of 'Main' in colliery names:
Easily the most important British coalfield from the beginnings of the
industry until the early twentieth century, was that of North East England
and, historically, its most important seam was the 'High Main', 6 to 7 feet
thick in places, producing for centuries the very best household coal. The
High Main outcropped around the Newcastle area, and this fact plus the very
close proximity of the navigable part of the river Tyne, allowed north-east
coal to dominate the London Market. Consequently, many north-eastern
collieries included 'Main' in their name - Percy Main, Bewicke Main, Hartley
Main, Blaydon Main, Burdon Main, Prudhoe Main, etc. 'Main Coals' became
bywords for excellence, and it would not surprise me one bit, if collieries
in other parts of the country adopted the name to suggest to potential
customers that their coals were as good as those of the north-eastern
collieries.
Stafford M Linsley
Lecturer in Industrial Archaeology
The University
Newcastle upon Tyne
England
NE1 7RU
Tel. 0191-222 6795
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