Coal mining expands in northern England

1233

Monasteries and landlords in Northumberland and Durham began systematic extraction of surface coal seams, called sea coal because it was shipped south along the coast to London. The fuel was cheaper than charcoal but produced acrid smoke that prompted the first recorded complaints about air pollution in English history. By century's end, London's air quality had deteriorated enough that Queen Eleanor reportedly fled Nottingham Castle to escape the fumes.