The pit-brow lasses

The Pit-brow Lasses, 2021

These panels were created in 2021 to celebrate the BSMGP centenary and to acknowledge the often forgotten role of women in mining history. Also known as ‘tip girls’, these women and girls were a vital part of the coal mining industry, hauling heavy loads from the pit face and breaking up coal above ground. Women were not allowed to work underground from 1842 after an accident in a mine near Barnsley where 26 children were killed and Queen Victoria intervened banning women and girls from working underground.