Coal delivery coal man

There must have been more cellars in the 50s.  I think that many of the houses that had cellars then have had them blocked up since. Although some people had coal bunkers or coal sheds to store their coal, many had coal cellars; the coal man would not carry the coal down to the cellar but many houses with cellars had chutes at the front or side of the house into which the coal could be tipped. The coal man would hoist a sack on to his back from his cart which in some cases was pulled by a horse. A sack of coal was one hundredweight (written as cwt) which is about 51 kilogrammes. The coal man had a leather protector over his back and shoulder which may have been fixed to a hat. Loved the noise the coal made as it went down the chute. Coke was kept separately. I think that coal was collected from the cellar in a coal scuttle and coke in a hod.