In message <[log in to unmask]>, Peter Claughton
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>>Once again Derbyshire is somewhat different. Large scale organisation
>>was earlier and it was later that the orefield deteriorated into smaller
>>scratchings. The London Lead Co. had departed by 1764, the Yatestoop
>>Mine collection of Newcomen Engines had finished by 1740 and Deep Rake
>>on Longstone Edge was reduced to be reworked by 1730. Virtually all the
>>19th century attempts to mechanise mining were dismal failures, viz.
>>John Taylor. Only Wass working a completely new area at New Millclose
>>was a success
>
>Dave,
>
>Once again, I have difficulty with the 17th / 18th century and the
>introduction of large scale organisation in Derbyshire as being described as
>'early'. There is a view, Kiernan and others, that the scale of mining
>increased in the mid to late 17th century in Derbyshire but it was still one
>to three hundred years behind the agentiferous lead mining areas of Devon
>and mid-Wales.
>
Peter,
What I was trying to point out was that in Derbyshire we don't conform
to the simple model of
1. The prospector rides in on his mule and finds lead.
2. Miners rush in and open a myriad of small scale mines.
3. The small scale mines consolidate into bigger ones.
4. Outside capitalists take over and apply economies of scale and
put in capital and organisation.
5. The lead is worked out (or the market collapses) and everyone
packs up and goes home.
Life here is somewhat more complicated than this, and more complicated
that Mike's model of large scale companies taking over from the smaller
operators as a natural progression.
I was also trying to point out, in a very clumsy manner, that the
mechanisation of dressing operations in Derbyshire, wasn't so much
applied to mining operations as to tip re-working operations. We were
re-working tips on a large scale in my favourite area of Ashford North
Side, by 1780. By then more ore was being produced by hillocking than by
deep mining, and this from an area which is still, to this day,
producing lead ore as a by-product of fluorspar mining. This was done
without water or steam power.
By the way, what was the scale of your medieval mining in Devon and
Mid-Wales? Is it anything like the 1,500 tons of ore produced annually
in Ashford Liberty in the 1580's?
>However, there were problems of deep working, underneath the medieval
>bottoms, without the advantage of the later, more powerful, steam powered
>pumping which might be common to both Derbyshire and Devon. But, like
>Mendip, would not the mineralisation in Derbyshire rule out really deep
>working? Where deep working really requires a large scale organisation.
The deepest working in the main part of the orefield were probably those
at the east end of Eyam Edge, where (for example) Ladywash Mine is
c900ft deep. The working at this end of the Edge were drained by Stoke
and Magclough Soughs, which reached these workings by 1735 or
thereabouts. The only steam engine in this area was the New Engine Mine
engine of 1863 where is pumped from the lowest workings at 1100ft deep
into the soughs. Needless to say, it was not a success, the lead had
given way to zinc at that depth.
>
>Peter
>______________________________________________
>
>Dr Peter Claughton,
>Blaenpant Morfil, nr. Rosebush, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
>Tel. 01437 532578; Fax. 01437 532921; Mobile 07831 427599
>
>University of Exeter - School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies
>(Centre for South Western Historical Studies)
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>Co-owner - mining-history e-mail discussion list.
>See http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/files/mining-history/ for details.
>
>Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
>
>_____________________________________________
--
David Williams
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