Our Smallest Colliery

Series

Series Name

Gaumont Mirror

Issue

Issue No.

87

Date Released

8 Oct 1928

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Our Smallest Colliery
2. 2(Untitled record)
3. 3(Untitled record)
4. 4(Untitled record)

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 4

Summary

Summary - smallest colliery at Shevington, near Wigan
NoS synopsis: ‘Our Smallest Colliery. Strikes are unknown at the Paradise Farm colliery at Shevington, near Wigan, which is entirely run by seven men.' intertitle with a still of mining equipment in the background. Panning shot of slag heaps and fence posts, then the entrance to the mine. Six miners stand in the doorway of a structure. One laughs and jokes to his colleagues. Down in the pit entrance, three men light their candles from one held by an older man. They all carry small pails too. They turn and walk away into the tunnel. ‘The winding gear is rigged up from old Ford engines.' Close up of the winding gear amidst a wooden structure. Close up of the engine. A man pushes a trailor towards another cart full of coal in the open air. He then pushes both together down a track as another man appears. A shire horse is led beside a track pulling several wagons full of coal and another with three men and a boy sitting on top. A view back down he wooden ramp as the wagons ascend. ‘The average daily output is ten tons, which is sold direct to the consumer.' Two men work at the foot of a chute. Beside them are stacked sacks of coal. Close up of one man rakingcoal down the shute whilst another two bag it up. Close up of the man bagging up and another moving the bags. ‘Meet the Manager, who is also timekeeper, winder and fireman. He also does his bit in the pit in his spare time!' Close up of a miner in a hat with a moustache posing for the camera.

Keywords

Mining

Locations

England; Lancashire; Wigan

Written sources

The Bioscope   3 October 1928, p32.
Viewing Copy - bfi   Used for synopsis

Length of story (in feet)

139

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

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