Leslie Owen Tyson, sb, A5, 160pp, 42 illustrations, 7 appendixes

Many of us are aware of Mashamshire through the products of Theakston's brewery, but far fewer have heard of Colsterdale. Of these, many probably only associate it with the ill-fated Leeds Pals. This book, Les Tyson's fourth, shows a different aspect of the area and presents a readable account of his meticulous study of an isolated Dales' estate and its coal mines. The latter were worked from the 14th century until the 1870s, one of the longest and best documented periods of working of any upland coalfield in Britain. Colsterdale was also home to an experiment in social engineering.
In his research, Les has used scattered documentary references to the Danbys, as well as their family archive, to present an insight into the underlying relationships between the landowners, their mining agents and the colliers, with transcripts of many of the letters between the various parties concerned. These remind us of the important part these small coal mines played in the local economy, both in providing fuel for domestic hearths and for lime burning for land improvement. They also show how the Danby family ran its mines for the long term