The traditional method of charcoal burning is almost as old as the hills upon which the wood grows. Today, there are still practitioners of this ancient art, for charcoal is a sustainable, ‘green’ fuel.

Charcoal is made by allowing heaps of wood, covered with damp sods and wet sand, to burn slowly with a carefully regulated supply of air. The charcoal burner builds large conical heaps from billets of ‘winter wood’ (branches and stems of coppiced ash, birch and hazel cut in winter, about four feet long, and averaging not more than an inch and a half in diameter) near the place where the wood was felled. He builds the stack round a vertical stake in the centre, and the space left by its withdrawal forms a kind of chimney. He lights the heap by throwing burning wood into the centre; he places a screen made of leaves and branches on the windy side of the heap to prevent the combustion from going ahead too rapidly. The heap of wood burns slowly for twenty-four hours, the fire gradually passing from the centre to the edges. When the charcoal burner sees thick smoke and fumes coming from all parts of the heap, he knows it is time to throw wet sand and water on to damp down the fire. Now he has to watch the heap carefully in case fire breaks out again, and he moves the screen round as the wind changes direction and presses damp sods and sand down on the heap. When the slow smouldering process is complete, the heap is left to cool, which takes 5 or 6 hours; finally the heap can be taken apart and the resulting charcoal put in sacks.

On the Victorian Picture Library website it is possible to see a fascinating illustration of Victorian charcoal burners in the Lake District – locally they were called ‘colliers’. In Victorian times, at almost every time of the year the copses were full of busy workers. The charcoal-burners occupied themselves in the winter from November to April in felling and hauling the wood. During the summer and autumn the colliers burnt charcoal in the woods, living in parties of three or four, and sharing a small conical-shaped hut covered with sods. In this hut they lived, cooked, and slept for twelve or fifteen weeks, and seldom visited their homes unless all work was stopped by stormy weather. They were visited from time to time by members of their families, who brought them food, newspapers, and gossip from the outside world. The process of charcoal burning requires great care and constant attention in case too much air makes the wood burst into flame, and the charcoal to be entirely ruined. It was therefore necessary that the men should be on the watch both day and night to prevent this happening, which meant long hours of work, and no rest even on Sundays.

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