Three Welsh families have been hand-picked to live in 1927 for four weeks this autumn.

The families will travel back in time to live life as it was in a mining community in 1927 as part of BBC Wales’ ambitious Coal House television series, which will be broadcast on BBC One Wales and BBC Two.

Each family will leave all 21st century luxuries behind when they enter a tiny miner’s cottage at Stack Square, Blaenavon later this October. With no bathroom, central heating or running water, it will be downshifting in the extreme.

The three Coal House families – selected from more than 150 applicants – are:

* The Cartwright family from Penarth
* The Griffiths family from Cardigan
* The Phillips family from Cowbridge

The reasons the families gave

for wanting to be part of the programme ranged from wanting a better understanding of their own mining heritage and family history to the novelty of spending time together without the technological trappings of modern-day life.

For the selection process, each family was tested on initiative, stamina and team-working as well as undergoing psychological tests to find out how they might cope with the stresses of life in the Coal House.

They now have two weeks to prepare for the harsh reality of life in 1927. During their four weeks in the cottages, each member of every family will have their stamina tested in different ways.

For the men and boys over 14 there will be the physical test of long walks to work over mountainous terrain in all weather, to face a long day as coal miners hacking away at the coal face on hands and knees, shovelling coal and cutting pit props at Blaentillery Drift Mine – the last working mine of its kind in the UK.

Meanwhile the women will have to run the home under 1927 conditions, keeping the children fed, watered and clean without the benefit of supermarkets, washing machines, ready meals or cars. Even making a cup of tea will involve the hard work of collecting water from a pump and lighting a fire. When the men and boys return from work covered in coal dust, the women will have to find enough hot water to fill a tin bath.

With no televisions, mobile phones or computers, children will have to make their own entertainment as well as being educated according to the curriculum of the time.

“In 1927, coal was the lifeblood of Wales, and through the Coal House project we want to capture a way of life and a time which will soon be lost forever,” said BBC Wales Executive Producer Martyn Ingram.

“When these adventurous families enter the cottages they will effectively enter a time-travel bubble, going back in time and stepping into a real life history – and the real beauty of it is that the rest of the country can share their experiences through television, radio and online.”

Action from the Coal House will air three evenings a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - on BBC One Wales and on BBC Two.