I have an example (not to hand) of a miller passing through an adjacent manor on horseback when he died (I think by natural causes, not an accident) his widow had to pay a deodand to get the horse back.

 


 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter King <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:03
Subject: Re: Deodand payments


I think they were collected as a result of a coroner's inquest if the Crown

was entitled to the deodand, or the manor court if the right had been

alienated by the crown with a manor.  However the survival of corner's

records is commonly poor.



A deodand was any article that caused a death, for example a runaway horse.

Today (if not abolished), hit and run drivers would forfeit their car.  I

think the right was ecclesiastical on origin, the idea being that the thing

that caused death would be sold for the benefit of the victim's soul.  The

abolition was perhaps due to the seizure of the railway engine as a deodand.



I am not sure that deodands would easily arise in the course of mining,

because accidents were not usually caused by a chattel that could be seized.



Peter King

49, Stourbridge Road,

Hagley,

Stourbridge

West Midlands

DY9 0QS

01562-720368

[log in to unmask]





-----Original Message-----

From: mining-history [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of

James Fussell

Sent: 15 August 2010 21:35

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Re: Deodand payments





I know it's not mining, but the jury at the coroner's inquest on those who

died in the Sonning Cutting accident on the Great Western Railway in 1841

laid "...a deodand of one thousand pounds on the engine, tender, and

carriages." "Deodands of £1100 in total were made on the engine (Hecla), and

the trucks, payable to the lord of the manor of Sonning, Mr R. Palmer. Early

reports suggested that Mr Palmer intended to share the money between the

injured and dependants of those killed, but this was denied by Mr Palmer,

who believed it was very unlikely that the deodand payments would ever be

made and that it would be unkind to raise false hopes amongst the potential

beneficiaries. In the event, both deodands were overturned and the money was

never paid." (That's from wickedpedia - but I do remember reading about it

in various books, including Rolt's 'Red for Danger')



On 15 August 2010 21:46, Lynne Mayers <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



> Just come across this word for the first time today (relating to the

> building of the Summit Tunnel on Manchester-Leeds Railway) = Common Law

> forfeiture to the Crown of machinery/animal etc which caused death - or

fine

> to same value - funds usually used as alms for bereaved family - repealed

> 1846. Does anyone have records of Deodand being claimed for fatalities in

> the mining industry?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

> Lynne

>