In October 2007 we transported three families back to the south Wales coalfield of the 1920s for this BBC Wales living history series.

Over four weeks the Cartwright family from Penarth near Cardiff, the Griffiths family from Ceredigion and the Phillips family from the Vale of Glamorgan coped with daily life as the mining community lived it 80 years ago - a year after the last general strike and before the pits were nationalised.

The chosen families left all 21st century luxuries behind, swapping a modern high-tech life for a 1920s miner's cottage in the Welsh hills of Blaenavon. All traces of creature comforts were removed.

For the men and boys over 14 there was the harsh reality of long walks to work over mountains in all weather, to face a long day as coal miners at Blaentillery No.2 Mine - the last working mine of its kind in the UK.

Meanwhile, the women had to run the home under 1927 conditions, keeping the children fed, watered and clean. Even making a cup of tea involved the hard work of collecting water from a pump and lighting a fire.

Coal House was made for BBC Wales by Indus Films

Put your memories on the map

As part of this ambitious project, we want your help to gather a people's history of coal mining community life over the last century.

Did coalmining touch you or your family in any way? We would like you to share your recollections and photos of people, places, events or everyday occurrences that reflect what living and working in your community was like over the years.

These will be published on this site and will remain as an archive after the series ends. View all contributions so far.

Get in touch! Send us your stories and photos.