Brian - when I worked in the mining industry the men doing this type of work were often called individually 'canch man' or the team 'canch men'. Remembering that a coal seam could be as low as 12 inches in thickness then you will see that a considerable amount of stone had to be taken up or brought down in order to make a roadway of about 9 feet high. The thicker the seam then the less stone that had to be removed in order to make height. Much of the stone was made into roadway 'packs' that provided extra support for the roadway. Alan Vickers.

On 20/03/2010 15:18, alan-vickers@lineone.net wrote: > Brian - when I worked in the mining industry the men doing this type > of work were often called individually 'canch man' or the team 'canch > men'. Remembering that a coal seam could be as low as 12 inches in > thickness then you will see that a considerable amount of stone had to > be taken up or brought down in order to make a roadway of about 9 feet > high. The thicker the seam then the less stone that had to be removed > in order to make height. Much of the stone was made into roadway > 'packs' that provided extra support for the roadway. Alan Thanks for that additional information. As I said in my reply to Chris, it's a mining term I've not come across before, so I'm delighted to hear about it, especially from someone directly involved. Brian -- Brian Pears (Gateshead, UK) http://www.bpears.org.uk/ Joint List Admin NORTHUMBRIA Genealogy Mailing List GENUKI Northumberland Maintainer