Coal could be found along the beaches of the North-East coast as the seams were very close to the surface. Although Newcastle was known for the export of leather, by 1305 it was already exporting coal by sea to London. The sale of land during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII between 1536 and 1541 led to the total removal of the church’s influence on coal production. A ten fold increase in production followed and by 1547 Newcastle was transformed from a town into a city of 10,000 inhabitants. In the 16th Century the coal industry gave rise to some of the very earliest railways...with wooden rails and horse-drawn wagons.