Main content
Durham 1: A Man's Life
First transmitted in 1972, the coal mines in Durham dominate the people in the same way they dominate the landscape.
First transmitted in 1972, the coal mines in Durham dominate the people in the same way they dominate the landscape. In this first episode of a series looking to profile British society, Norman Dennis discovers a culture that is unique to the Durham pit villages, folk songs based on their own lives and experiences, and stories that reveal the hard facts of life in a mining community.
Last on
Wed 12 Jan 1972
19:05
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
Did You Know?
The song played over the end of this programme is the traditional folksong The Collier's Rant, first published in 1784 (though written much earlier), in which a collier and his workmate ('marra') encounter the Devil on the way to work. The song illustrates the deep-rooted superstition that was prevalent in mining communities where mining disasters were often thought to be the work of the Devil.
Archive
Archive programmes available on iPlayer reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required. In these cases, edits are kept to a minimum and are made only for technical reasons.
Broadcast
- Wed 12 Jan 1972 19:05Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
Featured in...
![]()
Coal Mining in Britain
The story of mining, from the coal face to the strike.
Coal Mining in Britain Collection
This programme is available online as part of the Coal Mining in Britain Collection