Dear Lynne,
Basically the Counthouse is the Mine Office, however, in the days of Cost
Book Companies the Counthouse was the main place of business, with, say (in GB
opers.), a London Committee (or Bristol - wherever the main number of
investors might be). This would meet in a Coffee House or some such, with decisions
going back to the Counthouse, and then either actioned or await a General
Meeting for sanction - although the Purser held quite a bit of power in those
days (the modern day equiv. of a Gnrl.Mgr./come resident Dir.) - if there was no
Local Committee. The Senior Shareholder of a Cost Book Co. could take the
position of Chmn. or modern day equiv. of 'MD' if wished, or could nominate
someone to do so - the number of shares held would/could determine influence
over the mine's running.
When Limited Liability came in, the Counthouse relatively quickly became
just a Mine Head Office where the day to day paperwork and wages were prepared,
with Registered Office's being in Cities or, again, in other 'main' places
where the majority of shareholders were. London was the main centre in general
between 1855 to 1890, but I have noticed Glasgow, Liverpool, and the Midlands
featured quite strongly between 1880 to 1900.
This is only a quick generalisation, but will give you an 'in brief' idea
and I hope you will find it of use.
Regards, Bernard
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