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Work and Industry in Tredegar

during the 19th century

Part 8—Museum Activity Pack

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Look for coal mining objects in the museum

What materials are these tools made from? ___________________________

Miners carried their tools together hooked on a bar. How was this done?

Ask someone in the museum to explain how these tools were used

Draw a tool used underground by

miners to cut coal, in the box below.

Draw a tool used by miners to cut

wooden pit props, in the box below.

Name of tool: Name of tool:

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Look for coal mining objects in the museum

What materials are these tools made from? ___________________________

Ask someone in the museum to explain how these tools were used by

colliers during the 19th century.

Draw a tool used by miners to hang a

lamp on a timber pit prop underground.

Draw a tool used by miners to break

large blocks of coal out of the seam

Name of tool: Name of tool:

255

Look for coal mining objects in the museum

What materials are these objects made from? _________________________

Why was this material chosen? _______________________________________

Why didn’t miners just go home for food? _____________________________

Draw a container used underground by

miners to keep tea or water to drink.

Draw a container used underground by

miners to keep their food.

Name of object: Name of object:

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Look for coal mining objects in the museum

What materials are these objects made from? _________________________

Why did watches need to be protected?_______________________________

How was tobacco used if smoking was banned?_______________________

Draw an object used underground by

miners to keep pocket watches safe.

Draw a container used underground by

miners to keep tobacco in.

Name of object: Name of object:

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Look for coal mining objects in the museum

What materials are these objects made from? _________________________

Ask someone in the museum to explain how explosives were used.

Where was the tool used for tightening bolts found? ___________________

Draw an object used to drill boreholes for

blasting out coal and rock underground.

Draw an object used for tightening bolts

underground by miners.

Name of object: Name of object:

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Draw an object used by miners to test

for gases underground.

What materials is it made from?

_____________________________________

Ask someone in the museum to explain

how and when this object would have

been used.

Ask them to talk about what was nor-

mally used by miners for lighting whilst

they worked during the 19th century.

What were the dangers in using this

method of lighting underground?

What would be used to provide lighting

underground in modern times? Name of object:

Look for coal mining objects in the museum

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3. Tommy box

4. Jack

Look carefully at the photo on the

right. Below is a list of things that

these colliers would have taken to

work in a coal mine. Explain what

each one would have been used for.

1. Mandrel

2. Lamp

5. Yorks

6. Muffler

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Look for bricks in the museum displays

Find a large yellow brick with a print on

it. Draw the print in the box opposite.

Who might have made this print?

The brick comes from the wall of a

furnace made in the 19th century. What

does the print tell you about the ages

of people that may have worked in or

been near the brickworks at this time?

_____________________________________

Make a list of the names on all the

bricks that you can find in the museum.

_____________________________________

_____________________________________ Name of object:

Using this evidence, was there a brickworks in Tredegar at one time?

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Making iron in the 1700s

Iron is a metal that has been used for

thousands of years.

In one of the display cases, there is an

iron container found near the site of an

old ironworks dating back to the 1700s.

Draw it in the box opposite.

Look for 4 small objects directly below

the iron container in the same case.

What are they? ______________________

Where were they found? _____________

_____________________________________

What fuel was used to make iron at

Pont Gwaith yr Haearn in the 1700s?

_____________________________________ Name of object:

From what material is this fuel made? _________________________________

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Iron was used for making all sorts of things. Make a quick sketch of 4

different objects made from iron that are on display in the museum.

Name of object: Name of object:

Name of object: Name of object:

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Teachers’ Notes Use of this activity pack will be relevant to the following programmes of study: Wales KS2 / History Changes to people’s daily lives in the locality in the nineteenth century

Wales KS3 / History Changes that happened in Wales, Britain and the wider world between 1760 and 1914 and people’s reactions to them It is intended that this activity pack will be used in conjunction with the comprehensive educational resource pack, which is available to download free of charge from the Access to Heritage Project website. Both resources have been produced, as the result of the generous support of the Herit-age Lottery Fund and Cymal, by the Access to Heritage Project, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Bedwellty House, Morgan Street, Tredegar, NP22 3XN [heritage@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk; www.access2heritagebg.co.uk; 01495 355662].

All of the activities included within this resource need to be undertaken by visiting Tredegar Museum, which welcomes school visits by prior arrangement. The museum is situated at Tredegar Library, The Circle, Tredegar, NP22 3PS. Visits are free of charge.

The museum is run entirely by volunteers who give up their time freely for the benefit of visitors and the community. Opening times are limited and details can be found on the Access to Heritage Project website. Tredegar Museum can also be contacted directly at archiveclub@hotmail.co.uk or by phone [01495 726506 or 01495 357869].

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Further activities

Blaenau Gwent Local Studies Resource Centre at Tredegar library is an excellent, free resource, which is available for research. It welcomes school visits by prior arrangement.

It contains an extensive library of books, journals, directories, maps, newspapers and photographs of Blaenau Gwent and, provides free access to online family history resources such as Ancestry and Findmypast, which include census, birth, marriage and burial records.

Please contact Tredegar Library, The Circle, Tredegar, NP22 3PS [Tel: 01495 357869 or email: tredegar.library@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk].