The Keelmen Mural

This mural, located on the end of a row of houses just off City Road in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK, commemorates a way of life that ended in the late 19th century. It is constructed  from different colored bricks on the gable wall of a row of houses known as Sallyport Crescent.

Before the introduction of large-scale coal staithes on the River Tyne—which, after the Newcastle Bridge was replaced by a swing bridge in 1876, could load directly onto sea-going ships—the Collier Briggs were loaded from smaller vessels known as Keels. These Keels were supplied by small-scale coal drops on the riverside. The coal drops were initially fed by wooden-railed, horse-drawn waggonways that ran from the mines to the nearest accessible point on the river.

The Keels were mainly propelled by oars and poles. Upon arriving next to the Collier, the coal was transferred by a crew shoveling the coal up into the coal port. The work was physically demanding, and it is reported that very few Keelmen were capable of doing the job beyond the age of 45.

The Keelmen were employed by middlemen called Hostmen—a powerful cartel that, through collusion with the Crown, had established a Newcastle monopoly over the coal trade. Industrial disputes were common. When the Keelmen went on strike in 1819, one of their demands was an extra shilling per load per foot when the lift to the Collier exceeded five feet.

The Newcastle Hostmen successfully lobbied Parliament to prevent the Keelmen’s Association from becoming incorporated, giving them great legal advantage over their workers. The Keelmen were well organized, however; they built and maintained their own almshouse for retired and infirm Keelmen and their widows.

The Keelmen wore a blue jacket over a yellow waistcoat and a distinctive hat. This is what is depicted in the mural. The work was commissioned by local architect Eric Newsham, designed by the artist Robert Olley, and built in 1986.