Recently we went across to Northern France to the Lewarde area to visit some of the French coal mining sites. Apparently all coal mining in Northern France has now ceased.
Horses were used extensively underground and on a trip to a mining museum the Delloye Colliery Mining History Centre we had the dubious pleasure of touching a stuffed French Pit Pony on the underground tour. They had stretched the skin of a real pony over a pony shaped dummy. It was a very strange experience.
The headgear of the deep mines is quite different to ours. Quite ornate. Several of the small towns we visited had the headgear pride of place in the town centre. Some of the spoil tips are being re-worked to recover small coal and then landscaped away.
