Since ancient times miners had claimed cutting
rights for wood and timber for use in their mines, as pit-props
and as fuel. Matlock and Matlock Bath would have had plentiful
supplies of timber.
Smelting, or extracting the lead from the ore
by melting it, was carried out in a small open hearth. Lead was
cast in layers as each batch of ore was smelted; the blocks of
lead thus produced were referred to as "pigs".
Examples of early smelting-hearths found within the
county were stone lined, with one side open facing the prevailing
wind to create the draught needed. The hilltops of the Matlocks
would have provided very suitable conditions.
 |
|
Lead mining in Matlock and District
is discussed under the following sub headings:
|
Washing ore at the Guildereye Mine,
about 1770.
Etching from Henry Moore's 1818 Guide[1] |
|
 Roman "Finds" |
Three pigs of lead, ranging in weight between 37kg and 78kg, and
dating from Roman times were found in Matlock in the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries.
The first was discovered on Matlock Bank in 1783 and
is now in the British Museum. The pig was found close to the
remains of an old smelting hearth and was only a few inches below
the surface. The face carries an inscription, shown below.
Top length 19" & width 3½". Bottom length 20½" & width 4½".
Weight 84lbs. |
L(uci) Aruconi Verecundi metal(li) Lutud(arensis)
This translates as:
"(Product) of Lucius Aruconius
Vericundus from the Lutudarensian mine".
Vericundus was one of the private lessees in the Derbyshire
area. Lutudarum was presumably the administrative centre of
the Derbyshire lead mining area, but its location is unknown[2]. |
The whereabouts of the second pig, which was found on Matlock
Moor in 1787 and dated from between 41-54 A.D., is unknown.
The face also carried an inscription, which was recorded, and
this time was rather more cryptic:
TI. CL. TR. IVT. BR. EX. ARG.
This translates as Ti(berii) Cl(audi) Tr(ifernae?) Lut(udarense)
Br(itannicum) ex arg(entariis)
or "(Product) of Tiberius Claudius Triferna: Lutudarensian
British (lead) from the lead-silver works"[2].
Top length 17½". Bottom length 20½". Weight 173lbs. It
consisted of 30 layers.
Interestingly, four other pigs carrying the same inscription were
found in Sussex in 1824.
The third pig was found in good condition in March 1894 on Mr.
D. Hurd's estate at Portland Grange. The inscription is:
Top length 19⅝" & width 3½". Bottom length 22¼" & width
5¼". Weight 15lbs. |
The inscription stands for:
(moulded) P(ubli) Rubri Abascanti Metalli Lutudare(n)s(is)
This translates as:
"(Product) of Publius Rubrius Abascantus from the Lutudarensian mine"[2]. |
| |
A further pig from the same mine was found on nearby Cromford Moor;
it shows the name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, so can be dated
to about 130 A.D.
|
| More Recent Times |
Between 1550 and 1692, between the reigns of Elizabeth I and William
III, Derbyshire miners and those of "Matlock in particular
continued to work under the articles embodying their customs
and privileges, until they became spoken of as laws". It became
established that any man could dig for lead by right in the
"King's Field", the mountain limestone district
of Derbyshire, so they could search without being accountable
to the landowner for the surface damage! When a searcher
found a possible vein it was marked temporarily with a cross
on the ground. The King had rights over the strip of land
on each side[3].
The Barmote Court for Matlock, dating from at least 1653, was
held at nearby Wirksworth twice a year in April and September.
It was this court that dealt with lawbreakers, settled disputes
and determined claims and insisted upon the lore of the miners
being upheld. Punishments for law breakers was severe.
Thomas Manlove, a Barmote Steward of the mid-seventeenth century,
summarised the mining laws and accepted customs in verse[3]:
"By custom old in Wirksworth Wapontake,
If any of this Nation find a rake,
Or sign, or Leading, to the same may set,
In any ground, and there lead ore may get :
They may make Crosses, Holes, and set their Stows,
Sinks, Shafts, build Lodges, Cottages and Coes :
But Churches, Houses, Gardens, all are free
From this strange Custom of the Minery."[4]
Accepted customs could cause problems, especially where the way
the land was used had changed. In 1824 Mr. Gilbert of Guilderoy
found a lead miner called Thomason digging up the shrubbery in
the Fountain Garden, citing ancient mineral customs about his rights.
The case was heard at the Lent Assizes of the County Court and
it had to be decided whether the land was, at the time of the trespass,
a garden or not. The miner was fined[5].
In
1852 Charles Clarke of Matlock Bath was barmaster; his Matlock
deputy was Michael Cardin, also of Matlock. Benjamin Bryan, who
knew Mr. Cardin, wrote that "a
more just and upright man ... there could not have been"[3].
The pair were in office when the Wirksworth Mining Customs and
Mineral Courts Bill of 1851 became an Act of Parliament and the
mining laws were codified[6].
|
The miner used a tool called a mattock or a
pick, and hammers and iron wedges in harder veins, to
loosen the ore. They threw the ore onto ridges
on each side of the vein, going deeper where the ore
proved richer.
Many mines were very shallow and, once opened, proved
too poor to develop. Benjamin Bryan cited the example of "Ember
Hill, on the shoulder of Masson, above Matlock Bath" where
there are hollows in the surface showing where there had
been fruitless searches for lead[3].
There were small buildings, called "coes", near
each mine shaft which were used for tool storage, to provide
shelter and as places for changing into working clothes.
It was here that the lead was smelted and stored until
ready for sale.
Lead is, of course, very poisonous. As miners washed lead-bearing
material, great care was taken with the washing vats, which
had to be covered. If cattle accidentally drank the poisoned
water they would die from something called "belland"[3].
The disposal of the used water was, therefore, strictly controlled.
Old shafts were covered with a pile of uncemented stones
to protect the entrance to the mine but over time these fell
in. They become a danger to grazing cattle and the disused
mines eventually had to be securely fenced. I remember being
told as a child to avoid the dangers of the various excavations
that littered the top of Masson Hill. There was an unfortunate
fatality in October 1887[7].
George Limb and Frederick Bunting of Matlock walked over
Masson to Bonsall one Sunday afternoon. On their return journey,
after a few drinks at the King's Head, they strayed from
the path as it was by then dark and Limb fell head first
down an uncovered mine shaft. In
recent years attention has been given to capping the shafts
to make them safe for the unwary wanderer. |
|
 |
Etching of a carving of a medieval lead
miner, with his pick and "kibble".
Originally in Bonsall church the carving was moved to Wirksworth
in the 19th century by Mr. Marsh, the high bailiff, to save
it from destruction[8].
Some of those mining for lead on Masson were from Bonsall. |
| |
|
| Lead
mines in the parish at the beginning of the nineteenth century |
The list below is from Benjamin Bryan's
extracts from "Derbyshire I" by Farey. Bryan
notes that "according to Farey the productiveness
of the mines was declining in 1808"[3].
- Coal-hole Rake[a] and
Pipe[b], Masson
"The Devonshire Cavern", Matlock Bath of more recent
years
- Cornel Rake, Matlock Bath
- Crichman Pipe, Masson Hill
- Cross Rake, High Tor
- Cumberland Mine, Matlock Bath. See Further
information, below
Then and still a cavern, though not longer open to the public
- Dimple[c], Matlock
Bank
- Gentlewoman's Pipe, nr. Matlock Bridge
- Granby Shaft, Matlock Bank (a trial)
- High Tor Rake, Starkholmes
- Knowle's, Masson Hill (large caverns)
- Lady-gate, nr. Matlock Bridge
- Mullet-hill or Stoney-way, Matlock
- Nester's or Nestus Pipe, Masson Hill
- Nether Hay, Matlock
- Old Nester's or Nestus, Masson (above Matlock Bath)
A very old mine, formerly very rich, probably referred to in Domesday and mentioned
in the account of the Manor.
See Further information, below
- Seven Rakes, nr. Matlock Bridge
Animal bones and teeth were found there
- Side Rake, nr. Starkholmes[d]
The "Side Mine" was approached
by crossing the Derwent in Matlock Dale "under the High Tor".
Notes on the above list:
[a] A rake vein is a straight and vertical crack
or fissure in the limestone strata filled with spar and ore
etc.
[b] A pipe vein is a cavity, often nearly horizontal,
between the beds of limestone, similarly filled, having
a narrow rake leading from it to the surface of the stratum.
[c] According to Farey, the only mine steam-engine
in the county was going here in 1809.
[d] "On 1 July 1769 the Lords of the Manor
granted to John Barber, gentleman, and George Goodwin,
miner, leave to erect water wheels and other machines on
the east side of the river Derwent for the purpose of unwatering
the mine", with a 21 year lease. It led to the weir
under High Tor being made and the side stream to convey
water to a huge water wheel[3].
Some of these mines are also listed under caverns in Matlock
Bath. More information can be found in:
 Gem
of the Peak (1840).
|
| Description
of the miners |
Firth[9]
quotes
Defoe's "Tour Through Britain"[10],
which was written in the early eighteenth century. Defoe described
one miner he had seen emerging from a shaft, wearing a leather suit
and cap, as "lean as a skeleton, pale as a corpse, his hair
and beard a deep black; what little flesh he had was lank and, as
we thought, something of the colour of lead itself". Apparently,
Defoe needed an interpreter as he could not understand the dialect!
He also observed how narrow the shaft - at that time called a groove
- was with narrow steps, made of timber, leading straight down into
the mine. He says that the lead miners were "highly esteemed
in the British army as sappers". During the English Civil War,
and acknowledged in a letter dated 12 June 1643, some 1,100 soldiers
were enlisted as bodyguards for the King - "raiseing the Derbyshire
minors for our life-guard"[11].
Women also worked in the mines and Firth, quoting an unattributed
account from 1829, says: "The head is much enwrapped, and
the features nearly hidden in a muffling of handkerchiefs, over
which is put a man's hat, in the manner of the paysannes of Wales"
He also describes their gowns, usually red, as being "tucked
up round the waist in a sort of bag, and set off by a bright
green petticoat". They
also wore a man's grey or dark blue coat and shoes with 3" thick
soles that were tied round with cords. The 1829 writer called
them
"complete harridans!"[9]
A great deal of money has been made and lost in the mining of
lead and, although the example he gives is not about Matlock inhabitants,
Firth quotes Bray as writing in 1777 that miners in the Ecton mine
earned one shilling (twelve pence) for six hours work; women earned
between fourpence and eightpence a day; boys and girls earned between
tuppence (two pence) and fourpence a day. In comparison, the mine's
owner, the then Duke of Devonshire, was receiving £10,000.
In "Peak Scenery",[12]
Rhodes describes passing a small lead mine called Mouse Hole that
was between Willersley and Matlock. He found a
"poor solitary individual, apparently about eighty years of
age, industriously pursuing his daily avocation". The old
man had a bucket for the ore which he let down, went down into
the mine himself to fill and then raised when it was full. He placed "the
produce ... in his little hovel at the mouth of the mine".
Rhodes also remarked on the natural cheerfulness of this man, who
was clearly very poor.
Between the villages of Winster and
Bonsall, on Bonsall Moor, there are lots of tiny derelict one-room
miners' dwellings still to be seen.
|
| Further Information |
Elsewhere on this web site:
"Gem
of the Peak" has more information on the Caverns
Smedley's
Cumberland Cavern Advertisement from Bemrose's Guide (about
1869).
There's
a little more, under Antiquities on page 41, in the
same guide.
Magic
Lantern Slides and Vista Screen views There are some
images of the interior of the Great Rutland Cavern (The
Nestus Mine or Nestor Mine) .
Biography
of George Wigley Walker, co-owner and partner
of the Bullestree and Moletrap Lead Mines in the 1840s.
The Wolley Manuscripts mention Matlock miners petitioning the
House of Commons and the documents contain a good deal of information
about lead mining in Matlock.
The
Wolley Manuscripts, Matlock provides detailed information
from the Catalogue at County Hall LSL
The
Wolley Manuscripts, Derbyshire has more general information
about the whole county
County Hall LSL in Matlock has a three part Index to the Catalogue
of British Museum Additional Manuscripts Numbers 6676 to 6686 being
the Manuscripts relating to the Derbyshire Leadmining Industry
which are part of the British Museum Additional Manuscripts numbers
6668-6718, otherwise known as the Wolley Manuscripts, prepared
from a microfilm copy for Derbyshire County Library by Miriam Wood
(1977). ISBN 0 903463 04 0 pub. Derbyshire County Council.
How
to contact County Hall LSL in Matlock
External Links (these will open in a new window):
Read
about Roman Britain on Guy de la Bédoyère's website
The late Peter Aspey described the Great Rutland Cavern (The Nestus
Mine or Nestor Mine) and the Great Masson Cavern, from his own
experience of living at the Heights of Abraham.
Peter
Aspey's web site (see Personal Details/Early History)
Peak
District Mines Historical Society Ltd., where further information
on mining may be found.
|
References:
[1] Guildereye Mine on the hillside above
Matlock Bath identified in Willis, Lynn and Parker, Harry (1999) "Images
Of England: Peak District Mining and Quarrying", pub.
Tempus Publishing Limited, Gloucester ISBN 0-7524-1710-X.
The etching (detail) from is from Henry Moore (1818) "Picturesque
Excursions from Derby to Matlock Bath and its vicinity; being a Descriptive
Guide" (1818). There is a transcript
of the Matlock section elsewhere on this web site and the full
engraving is also on the site (scroll down).
[2] I am very grateful to Sara Ratcliffe
M.A. for checking the indexes of "Roman
Inscriptions in Britain" II.1
2404.39, 40, 41 and 51. The two images of pigs of lead, under "Roman
Finds",
are taken from this publication.
[3] Bryan, Benjamin (1903) "History
of Matlock - Matlock, Manor and Parish" London by
Bemrose
& Sons, Limited.
[4] The
Mining Museum in Matlock Bath has the original.
[5] "The Derby Mercury",
24 March, 1824.
[6] "London Gazette",
18 Nov 1851. "... to define and amend the mineral customs
of the Soke and Wapentake of Wirksworth, in the county of Derby,
and of a certain part or district therein, known as the King's
Field, part of the possessions of Her Majesty's duchy of Lancaster,
and of the several manors ... in the said county of Derby, and
to make provision for the better administration of justice in the
Barmote Courts, in the said Soke and Wapentake, and King's Field,
and manors or lordships respectively, and to improve the practice
and proceedings of the said courts...". The Manor of Matlock
was not included in the public notices.
[7] "The Derby Mercury",
19 October, 1887
[8] Lead miner etching of medieval carving
and notes from Cox, J Charles (1877) "Notes on the Churches
of Derbyshire Vol II" Chesterfield: Palmer
and Edmunds, London: Bemrose and Sons, 10 Paternoster Buildings;
and Derby.
[9] Firth, J.B. (1908) "Highways
and Byways in Derbyshire" MacMillan & Co., London.
[10] Defoe, Daniel (1724-6) "A
Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain" Read
an extract on this site.
[11] Benjamin Bryan provides the source
as a letter bearing the King's signature printed in Glover's "History",
Vol. 1, appendix.
[12] Rhodes, Ebenezer (1824) "Peak
Scenery"
pub. London, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Paternoster
Row.
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