coal hole

plural coal holes · alternative coal-hole · alternative coalhole

1. A cellar or other compartment for storing coal.First known use 17th c.

   [T]he back door opened on to a paved yard, with a coal-hole beside the back gate that my grandmother topped up with a bit of judicious thieving for, unlike the other coal-holes along the terrace, ours was not entitled to the free hand-outs from the pits for miners' families.

   1976, Angela Carter, “The Mother Lode”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 3

2. A hole in the pavement with a removable hatch, leading to an underground coal bunker.First known use 18th c.