Paperback. Small octavo, 99 pages, illustrated.
Hayloft Publishing have recently republished the Yorkshire history classic “Men of Swaledale – An Account of Yorkshire Farmers and Miners” by Edmund Cooper. Originally published in 1960 it “contains precious stories from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries giving a real view of the hardships of farming and mining life.
There are tales of bare fist fights between hard working, hard drinking miners – some of these boxing matches were terrifying encounters. The miners who fought were strong, hefty men and stripped to the waist they punched hard with pounding blows, once beating off Weardale miners who had come over the moor intent on stealing game and sheep.
The book describes trips to Brough Hill Fair to buy horses, and Scots cattle drovers making their way down Swaledale. There are many insights into farming life, schools, religion, music nights, Old Christmas Day love feasts and much more.”
£10 plus £2 post and packing.