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. 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. The men who carried the coal to households were called coal men.
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.
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Big Ben in de mist, Bestanddeelnr 254-1946.jpg
Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Van de Poll
Reportage / Serie : Londen in de mist
Beschrijving :...
Coal-hole cover - geograph.org.uk - 1766029.jpg
Coal-hole cover. A cast iron cover to a coal hole outside a terrace of houses in Falmouth Road, Sout...
Coal delivery, Richmond - geograph.org.uk - 247056.jpg
Coal delivery, Richmond. Something you rarely see these days - coal being delivered in small sacks o...
Coal drops, Station Road, Sowerby Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 195219.jpg
Coal drops, Station Road, Sowerby Bridge. Here coal was tipped out of railway wagons into carts, lat...
Coal merchant at Hook Railway Station Hampshire (cropped).jpg
A. L. Cooke, the coal merchant at Hook Railway Station Hampshire. Photographed in 1965.
Camera: Fed ...
Portland Road, South Norwood, coal merchant sign - geograph.org.uk - 1979282.jpg
Portland Road, South Norwood: coal merchant sign
Print, trade-card (BM Heal,44.25).jpg
DRAFT Bill-head of J H Popplewell, coal merchant.