The bond between man and horse was a strong one, and as the photographs on this page show, one Houghton miner loved his pony enough to preserve its hoof as an ornament following its death in 1910. This may seem a bit macabre to modern eyes, but this is not a unique memento; other hooves are known to exist for other collieries and can often be dated to colliery disasters where miner and pony lost their lives alongside each other. Hooves have been known to be turned in to ash trays, snuff boxes, trinket boxes, pin cushions and ink wells, usually silver plated. Copyright © Books of the North 2012.

The disaster at neighbouring Seaham Colliery on September 8th 1880 resulted in 164 miners losing their lives with 181 pit ponies. Hooves from several of these animals, still shooed, were rescued and inscribed with details of the disaster. The introduction of conveyor belts did away with the need for pit ponies at Houghton Colliery. Copyright © Books of the North 2012.