Could I please ask another pretty simple question, this time relating to typical coal leases in C18/
early C19 Yorkshire? I would like to test my grasp of what appeared to be the conventions.
Coal was often leased at £XX per acre (statute or local variant) per year for a stated period, this
figure being effectively the minimum guaranteed payment p.a. through the life of the lease.
Production of a greater area would be paid for proportionately, but under-production could be
carried forward to future years, thus:
(lease for £50 per 1 acre per year)
1. Overproduction: in year 1, 1.5 acres were extracted; the payment was therefore £75. In year
2, 1 acre was extracted and the payment was £50.
2. Underproduction: in year 1, 0.5 acres were mined; £50 was paid. In years 2 and 3, 1.25
acres were mined in each year but the payment remained at £50 because of the year 1 shortfall.
The ‘minimum payment’ would be made at the beginning of the lease year, with a visit by the
lessor’s agent at year-end to observe the amount extracted, with a subsequent settlement date.
It isn’t clear to me if this ‘shortfall’ allowance was a normal arrangement which applied
customarily, or only if it was specified in the lease. I fear I may have over-simplified in order to
make contemporary practice fit, falsely, into an easily understandable scheme.
Is this a fair summary? If anyone has any recommendations for a relevant text on this subject for
Yorkshire in this period I would be very grateful.
Thank you.
David Cross
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