Peppermint Essence, Peat and Wallet
Peppermint Essence
Who?
Miners and their families. Working people who couldn’t afford to see a doctor (you had to pay in the 19th century), and used homemade remedies when they were ill.
Why?
Lead poisoning in adults gave them stomach pains. Poor air in the mine gave the miners digestive complaints.
What?
Peppermint essence is made from the peppermint plant - a type of mint which is easily grown. People might have grown it in their gardens if they lived down in the valleys.
Where?
Peppermint essence would be bought from a travelling herbalist or at the local grocers.
When?
It was taken when someone had stomach ache or indigestion. It would also be taken as a warming drink.
How?
The essence was taken diluted with hot or cold water as a drink. It could also be used to flavour homemade sweets if the family had enough spare money to buy extra sugar.
Peat
Who?
Poor people in country areas where there was wet, boggy moorland nearby.
Why?
Peat was free and easily accessible, though the men had to go out and dig it up. A family would have rights to dig peat in a particular area of moorland. In the North Pennines there are very few trees, so there was no wood for burning. Outside the coal mining areas coal was expensive and would have to be brought in by horse and cart.
What?
Peat is formed over thousands of years when layers and layers of dead vegetation (mainly heather and sphagnum moss) built up in wet conditions. The wetness prevents the vegetation from rotting away so you can still see bits of stem and root in the peat.
Where?
Peat was burnt on the fire in homes and in the lodging shop. It is still used today as fuel in some parts of Ireland and the West of Scotland where wood and coal are hard to get.
When?
The peat fire would be burning all the time in winter and probably most of the time in summer. People depended on the fire for cooking and heating water as well as for heating the room and drying clothes
How?
Squares of peat are dug up in summer using a special spade. They look just like lumps of mud when they are wet, and are stacked up to dry through the summer before being burnt in winter. You would need a good big stack of peat to see you through the winter. Peat burns slowly with a lot of smoke, which has a characteristic smell.
Wallet
Who?
Men and boys who worked at the mine.
Why?
Since there were no cars of bicycles in the 19th century, the only way to get to work was to walk, carrying everything you needed with you. The wallets were cheap and easy to make at home and were used as we would use a rucksack.
What?
The wallets were made from stripy pillow ticking or sheeting material (calico) which could be washed and boiled to keep it white. The boys’ wallets were smaller that the men’s.
Where?
The wallet was used for carrying provisions and spare clothing from home to the mine.
When?
Miners who lived several miles from the mine would come to work early on Monday morning and return home late Friday or Saturday afternoon.
How?
The wallet would be packed so that both sides were more or less equal in weight. It was carried over one shoulder. The walk to work was often over rough moorland so they needed to have their hands free especially if they had to scramble over walls.