Coal merchant

[1][8][9] Other possibilities were delivery by canal boat or by collier ship,[1][10] or direct sale from the colliery in areas close to one, known as "landsale".

[16][17] There was a risk of occupational injury from the back-breaking work of carrying the heavy sacks of coal.

[4][18] Liz Barclay reports that in Gelderland in the Netherlands it was common for deliveries to be done in summer when it was dry to stock up for winter to reduce dirt coming into the house.

[19] The Clean Air Act 1956 attempted to switch UK consumption away from this towards smokeless fuel.

[25][26] Decline of rail shipment of coal generally led to the closure of concentration depots around the 1990s.

Local coal merchant in a station yard, Hook , Hampshire , England, 1965. Office at centre, coal stores on the right.
Bill-card of a London coal merchant, c. 1830
Coal drops for unloading coal from trains, Sowerby Bridge
Coal hole, Southwark , London
Smog in London from burning coal led to attempts to reduce consumption of coal, especially non-smokeless fuels, in the 1950s
Approved Coal Merchant sign, South Norwood , London, 2005
Coal delivery lorry, Richmond, North Yorkshire, 1994