This is a tall cylindrical mining lamp. It was used by miner John Dewitt at the Prince of Wales Colliery in Pontefract from 1920 to 1940.
The lamp has a heavy brass base, a central glass light and a tapering iron top ending in a large hook or carrying handle. The central glass light originally had a metal mesh or gauze screen inside it but this has since corroded and fallen out.
Coal mines were always very dangerous. One of the main threats was from explosive and flammable gases, usually methane.
The gauze in this type of safety lamp was invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davey. It allowed air in to burn but prevented the flame of the lamp getting out and igniting any gas in the atmosphere. It could also be used as a warning system. The lamp would also burn blue if methane was present, and go out when the concentration of oxygen in the air fell too low.
However, the
gauze in the lamp was easily damaged and the light it gave off was very dim.
Under pressure to reach quotas miners would often use a candle as well, so unfortunately accidents and deaths continued.
Even after much safer electric lights were introduced from the 1890s explosions still happened, and sadly still do in coal mines around the world today.
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