Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Estates and gentry income/Mining

Mining in Lancashire

The county of Lancashire has been known for centuries for its abundance in the natural resource of coal. Coal during the seventeenth century onward was very important in not only Lancashire but also in all of the country due to the continuous growth of industry, which required coal as a main energy source to run these industries. There is some controversy over how productive the coal mines were in the seventeenth century but one estimate is that a “single-pit coal-producing colliery employed a maximum of three hewers . . . and output per hewer thus c. 415 tons per annum”(1). These facts are also quite controversial as many were “mainly from records of law-suits”(2), which generally had to do with ownership of land and who had the rights to the coal being produced. In these cases “the right of mining for coal belonged to the proprietor of the soil”(3). Another issue is that while owning a coal mine is a great source of income, in order for the mine to be successful there must be workers or hewers which would be slightly costly. However one point of interest is that with textiles being another source of the economy in the county of Lancashire, it is possible to make money through transporting coal to the likes of textile factories or other locations for use.

Profits and Problems from Mining

A gentlemen seeking to develop mines on his property confronted serious technical problems, chiefly associated with mine drainage and often enhanced by deliberate sabotage by competitors, and had to manage an unruly labour force. He also risked potentially expensive conflict with neighbouring landowners over manorial boundaries and rights of way; with freeholders over mining rights with in common and waste; with tenants over his right to mine under their tenements. (4) Engagement in the exploitation of the mineral deposits on their estates often led the gentry into ancillary activities that seemed yet more remote from the classic images that associated gentility. (5) Substantial profits could be made, while elusive, they could still be made by the energetic and innovative in the seventeenth century. The elegant courtier, Sir William Slingsby is an example of a successful gentleman involved in mining. In his mining ventures at Kippax, West Yorkshire by 1623 his profits had stood at £600 for several years, and £6,000 had been made since the accession of James.(6) (BN: Good use of an example. More info in general needed, however).

Edit Comments: BN: This is a good start. An important note is that the industrial revolution does not start in our period, so coal for factories would not be needed yet. Future info needed: How profitable were they, what was the start-up cost, how can you get into the business, and what are the social implications of coal mining.

(1) Langton, John. “Coal Output in South-West Lancashire 1590-1799.” The Economic History Review 25, no.1 (Feb. 1972): 37. Accessed January 17, 2012. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2599735 (2) Langton, 1. (3) Moller, Asta. “Coal-Mining in the Seventeenth Century”. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society; Fourth Serie,Vol. 8 (1925): 81. Accessed January 17, 2012. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3678317 (4) Heal, Felicity, and Clive Holmes. The gentry in England and Wales, 1500-1700. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1994, 120. (5) Ibid, 121. (6) Ibid, 122.