Author Topic: 18th century coal mining  (Read 1994 times)

Offline Alb R

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Re: 18th century coal mining
« Reply #9 on: Sunday 03 March 19 14:09 GMT (UK) »
It does seem too much of a coincidence given the date of birth and Morton Coal Houses being in a mining district. Robert Inglis said that his father and grandfather worked for Prestongrange, so it's likely that James Inglis had run away and settled in the Durham coalfield in England (the first coalmining area he would have encountered going south) thinking it was far enough to be safe.
The Lairds of Prestongrange were very cruel to the workers even by the standards of the day, probably the worst in Mid or east Lothian from reading the evidence given to the Franks Commission. This makes me think that they would have trouble attracting colliers temporarily released from other coalworks making it essential that they did everything possible to find and bring back any of their own runaway colliers to maintain the number of colliers.
There is no direct connection between Prestongrange, Liberton and Sir John Hope. Even before 1775, when a coalwork closed or there was no work for them, by law the colliers were free to go elsewhere under certain conditions (in practice it was a real grey area but i won't go into that and it's been partly covered in some previous answers) so as coalworks closed, opened, expanded or contracted, colliers moved from place to place. I think New Craighall didn't open until 1831.

Alb
Hood, Juner, Midlothian, East Lothian. Coalmining

Offline hdw

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Re: 18th century coal mining
« Reply #10 on: Monday 04 March 19 14:41 GMT (UK) »
The Rothes papers in Kirkcaldy Art Gallery & Museum include a list of medicines supplied free to the Earl of Rothes's miners at Cluny in Fife. Fringe benefits of working for Rothes included free housing and medicine. In 1740 the Earl agreed with his colliers that he would provide work for the aged, infirm and destitute. When you consider how life in the 18th century could be "nasty, brutish and short", there might have been worse places to work in than the Fife mines. Indeed, the miners had little or no freedom to decide their destiny, and it is recorded that Rothes would lend some of his miners to other mineowners if asked. But at least the work would be paid.

Fishermen weren't much better off than miners and salters in those days. There is a famous case from 1705 when the 4th Earl of Northesk in Angus complained to the Privy Council that some of his fishers, by the name of Cargill, had been tempted by the town council of the neighbouring town of Arbroath to move to that town, leaving him in the lurch. He maintained that the fishermen were "serfs or thralls", like the miners and salters, and were bound to their master, and the Privy Council agreed, so the Cargills had to return whence they had come. I think they even did time in the noble lord's dungeons to bring them to their senses. Not until about 1830 were Auchmithie fisherfolk allowed to move to Arbroath, where they set up their distinctive fisher quarter at the "Fit o' the Toon".

Harry