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 The laws and customs relating to the mining field are very ancient.
The laws are administered by the Barmote Court which consists of a Steward, Barmaster and Jury of 12 (formerly 24) miners or maintainers of mines. Until 1852 these laws and customs lay outside the Common Law.
How to register a new lead mine.
Within the King's (Queen's) Field any man ‘free of this nation’ could search for lead ore on any man’s land without hindrance. The only exceptions being churchyards, orchards and the public highway. Once the miner found a vein he had to apply to the Barmaster, who would then ‘free’ the title and register the name of the new mine (or vein) in his book. At the same time the miner would pay a ‘freeing dish’ of ore representing the initial payment to the owner of the mineral duties. The owner was usually the Crown through the Duchy of Lancaster or a private individual such as the Dukes of Devonshire and Rutland.
The “dish” was the official way of measuring ore and a full dish weighed about 65lbs (29.5kgs) of dressed lead ore. The standard dish was presented to the miners by Henry Vlll in 1513 and is preserved in the Moot Hall at Wirksworth. It was used to calibrate the wooden dishes used by the Barmaster in the field.
On receipt of the ‘freeing’ dish the Barmaster would then measure out two ‘founder meers’ of ground. The meer is a very ancient unit of measurement of 32 yards (29 metres) in length, irrespective of the width or depth of the vein. Payment of the ‘freeing dish’ enabled the miners to work these two meers in their vein. The third meer, however, belonged to the owner of the mineral duties (called the Lord’s Meer). This could be worked through but any ore had to be put aside for the Lord of the Field. However most miners preferred to purchase it outright and therefore the Barmaster and the Jury would descend the mine, view the vein and value it.
How to claim a disused mine.
If a miner found an abandoned mine which he wanted to claim for himself then the Barmaster would place a notice on the mine. At the same time he would make a ‘nick’ on the wooden windlass used for hauling ore up the shaft. This he did on three successive weeks and if no one claimed the mine as his, then the Barmaster would give the title to the claimant. The process was known as ‘nicking’. However a mine could not be ‘nicked’ if it was not working because of bad ventilation (want of wind) or if it was flooded.
The Court still sits today, once a year, and is the oldest industrial court in the country. When mining was at its height it was very busy with claim and counterclaim resolving disputes between miner and miner.
These curious and ancient laws were first set down at an ‘Inquisition’ held at Ashbourne in 1288 and may have derived in the first place from the Anglo-Saxons. They were ancient even then (‘the memorie of man runneth not to the contrarie’). In 1653 the rules and customs were set down in verse by Edward Manlove, a Steward of the Wirksworth Barmote Court. It was probably the first time they had been put into print.
External Link
Peak District Mining Museum
Want to know more?
The liberties and customs of the lead mines by E. Manlove. Edited by T. Tapping. 1851.
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More Pictures
Lead Mining
Peak District Mining Museum
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