Pit Brow Lasses

In 1842 the employment of women and children working underground in the UK was forbidden. As a result of this legislation, many families within the coal industry fell upon hard times. One result of this change in the law, was that coal mine owners started to employ females working at the surface of their mines. Thus was born the "Pit Brow Lasses" of the North West UK - particularly in the county of Lancashire. This publication attempts to bring to life those women who toiled at the pit brow (the top of the mine shafts) through articles, press clippings and photographs. These lasses or women were years ahead of their time, insisting on their right to wear what THEY wanted and to conduct their lives as THEY thought fit and decent. This publication is a celebration of their independent spirit, their determination to stand up for their rights, to do what THEY wanted to do. This was quite unique in the Victorian Age in which many of them lived.