The best source I know for everything from Roman to the Victorians is the Free Miners organisation of the Forest of Dean. There were Roman mines for coal and iron ore that just continued to be worked all through the dark ages, medieval period and into the modern age. The Forest is riddled with workings, some of whch you can go down. I've been deep level caving through the Roman parts and it's very eerie seeing the pick marks in the walls and knowing they were made 1400 years ago. Also - tunnels two feet deep, with 3 inches of water, pushing a basket and operating by the light of a candle stuck to a stick held between the teeth - they were MEN then. Or slaves, which is a more worrying thought.

There's some info here http://www.clearwellcaves.com/freemining.html and more elsewhere on the web.

Incidentally the stick with the flared end that held the candle was called a 'nelly' and I wonder if that it the origination of the phrase "not on your nelly".