Coal merchant

Local coal merchant in a station yard, Hook, Hampshire, England, 1965. Office at centre, coal stores on the right.

A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households.[1][2] Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed world due to the rise of alternative heating methods, including central heating, gas, oil and electric heating.[3] The men who carried the coal to households were called coal men.[4][5]

The mass of coal homes burned was large; the UK government estimated in 1975 that the average household burning solid fuel used about 4.7 tons per year.[6]

  1. ^ Emm, Adele (30 April 2015). Tracing Your Trade & Craftsman Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians. Pen and Sword. pp. 46–51. ISBN 978-1-4738-2362-4.
  2. ^ "Coal Deliveries". Croxley Green History Project. Croxley Green History Group. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. ^ Buckland, Eve (20 April 2015). "Swindon's only remaining coal merchant to close after 114 years". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ Martinelli, Terry. "The work of coalmen when coal was the nation's main fuel". 1900s.org.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. ^ Cryer, Pat. "Coal delivery to houses and flats mid-20th Century". 1900s.org.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  6. ^ Eadie, Alex (3 March 1977). "Coal Consumption". Hansard. Retrieved 5 May 2023. The total number of solid fuel consuming households in the United Kingdom in 1975 was estimated to be 3·3 millions and the total solid fuel disposals to the domestic sector in the same year was 15·5 millions tons, giving an annual average of about 4·7 tons per solid fuel consuming household.