The Industrial Revolution is the name historians have given to the period in history when there was a large and rapid change in the way things were made. This meant that instead of things being hand made in small workshops, they were made more cheaply in large quantities by machines in factories. Products being made in large quantity now meant that they were sold for less.

Many people began to move from an agricultural based life in the country to the towns where the factories offered more and better paid work.

New equipment / mechanisation meant people could now use engines to power machines. This meant larger quantities of goods could be made, more cheaply and in less time.

New farming equipment led to an agricultural revolution meaning food could be produced in far greater quantities

Railways covered the country and allowed fast travel. Tourism and holidays became popular in Britain.

New inventions such as the telephone, the camera, the light bulb and the battery changed peoples lives.

Education improved with the Education Act and more people learned to read and write.

People lived longer thanks to better medical equipment and vaccination.

In 1700 there were very few uses for Coal in industry and the main market for the fuel source was for domestic heating of houses.

Coal became very expensive as by the 18th Century the last of the shallow, easily worked coalfields became exhausted therefore it was in short supply. Mining in deeper fields was more dangerous and required more equipment.

It was also very hard and very expensive to transport coal across land (as trains and canals had not been invented) which meant that it needed to be transported using ships on rivers leading out to sea where it could be transported round the country.

This meant that the most developed coal field in Britain became the North East as it had easy access to rivers such as the Tees, Tyne and Wear which led to the North Sea which allowed for easy transportation. The Coal of the North East was used to warm the largest buyer of coal in the country, London as it was the easiest and cheapest to transport south via the North Sea.

By 1800, Britain was mining 15 million tons of Coal a year.

The Industrial Revolution lead to a population boom which had a direct impact on the coal industry. Firstly, it meant that more coal was needed for the domestic heating of homes. Secondly, it increased the production of industries like brick making and brewing, which had already started to use coal. These industries were necessary to make build up the towns.

In addition, the growth of the Iron industry and steam power in factories led to a rising demand for coal as it would be used to power the factories and was used in the iron making process. As these industries grew the demand for coal rose.

The development of methods of transportation made it more possible to effectively transport coal around the country. The development of Canals and Railways made it easier to transport large quantities of Coal around the country. The Steam trains which carried the coal on the new railways relied on coal to power them.

As a result of coal becoming more accessible more mills and factories were able to use it.

Trains also became a source of transportation for regular people leading to holidays and trips across the country.

Britain was producing 64.7 million tons of coal a year by 1854.