RIMINGTON SILVER MINE

[Stanley]

RIMINGTON SILVER MINE

Posted - 23 Aug 2004 :  15:27:21   on oneguy.

Whilst researching my family tree I came across the following and thought it relevant to the Rimington mine. My 15x great-grandmother was a Waddington of Waddington Hall, her husband, John Birtwistle, inherited Huncote Hall in 1460..

Following the battle of Hexham, in 1463, King Henry V1 decamped to Lancashire where he evaded capture for a year. He was sheltered at Bolton Hall, in the Bowland Forest, by Sir Ralph Pudsey who owned the Rimington mine and whose descendants, Ambrose and William, would later be in trouble for taking silver from the mine without notifying the authorities. Up to the 19th century Bolton Hall had a well, named after the King, who had it walled in as a bath-shape, the well was known for miraculous cures. Henry also left behind a pair of gloves, a pair of boots and a spoon. These relics could be viewed at the hall in the 19th c. I am not sure if the well, or the relics, survive.

Henry was a strong supporter of the science of alchemy. He commissioned three alchemists who stated that they could impart the power of eternal youth along with transmuting base metals by means of the “Mother and Queen of Medicines, the Celestial Glory, the Quintessence or Elixir of Life”. Two of these alchemists were Sir Thomas Ashton of Ashton and Sir Edmund Trafford of Trafford. They obtained a patent for changing metals from Henry who announced to the public that they were so close to obtaining gold from base metals that he would shortly be able to pay off all his debts.

The King left Bolton Hall and took up residence at Waddington Hall, which, at this time, belonged to the Tempest family. The Hall came into their possession by means of an ancestor, Sir Roger Tempest, marrying Alice Waddington (the heiress of Walter de Waddington) in the reign of Edward 1.

The historian, Leland, gives an account that whilst at Waddington Hall King Henry was betrayed by Thomas Talbot (son & heir to Sir Edmund Talbot of Bashal) and his cousin John Talbot of Colebry. This came about because, on July 9th 1465, a grant of reward was recorded at Westminster whereby the estates of Sir Richard Tunstill, a Lancastrian, were granted to Sir James Harrington by Edward 1V. An alliance was made between the Tempests and the Talbots, presumably to save their own estates, that they would collude with Sir James Harrington to give up the King. Sir James took possession of his grant which praised him for “ his great and laborious diligence in taking our great traitor and rebel, Henry, lately called Henry VI”.

Having been surprised, whilst dining at Waddington Hall, King Henry made a run for it. He ran down to the Ribble, below Waddow Hall, across the Bungerley Hipping Stones and into Christian Pightle Wood where he was captured. He was taken to London on horseback, unceremoniously tied by coarse roap to his stirrups.


From Webster’s “Metallographia”:
There is a field called Skilhorn in the township of Rivington-within-Craven (Rimington) belonging to one Mr. Pudsey (this would be William - see later), an ancient esquire, and owner of Bolton Hall, juxta Bolland: who, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, did get good store of silver-ore and convert it to his own use, or rather coined it (this would be the famous “Pudsey Mint”) as many do believe, there being many shillings marked with an escallop, which the people of that country call Pudsey shillings to this day.

But whether waysoever it was, he procured his pardon for it, and had it, as I am certified from the mouths of those who had seen it. While old Basby (a chemist) was with me, I procured some of the ore, which yielded after the rate of twenty-six pounds of silver per ton. Since then good store of lead has been gotten: the miners being so cunning, that if they meet with any vein that contains so much ore as will make it a myne royall, they will not discover it.

From Dr. Whitaker’s “History of Craven”:
“The following papers, lately communicated to me from the evidence of the Pudseys, put the matter out of doubt:- Case of a myne royall. Although the gold or silver contained in the base metalls of a mine in the land of a subject be of less value than the baser metall, yet if gold and silver doe countervaile the charge of refining, or bee of more value than the baser metall spent in refining it, this is a myne royall, and as well the base metall as the gold and silver in it, belongs to the crown”:-
Edward Herbert, Attorney-General
Oliver St. John, Solicitor-General
Orl. Bridgeman
Joh. Glanville
Jeoffrey Palmer
Tho. Lane
Jo. Maynard
Hdw. Hyde
J. Glynn
Harbottle Grimstone & Co

‘So favourable at that time were the opinions of the most constitutional lawyers (for such were the greater part of these illustrious names) to the prerogative. But the law on this head has been very wisely altered by two statutes of William and Mary’ – Blackstone, 1v, 295.

“The other paper is of a later date:- “To the King’s most excellent Majestie. The humble petition of Ambrose Pudsey, Esq., sheweth that your petitioner having suffered much by imprisonment, plunder, &c,, for his bounden loyalty, and having many years concealed a myne royall, in Craven, in Yorkshire, prayeth a patent for digging and refining the same”.

Old silver mines are usually associated with supernatural tales, for obvious reasons it would be in the owner’s interests to have people believe that the area was haunted to keep them away. Skelhorn is no exception as the site was reputed to be occupied by ‘The Grey Man’.
In the time of Elizabeth 1st a William Pudsey owned Skelhorn and tradition has it that he met with some fairies in a wood who gave him a magic bit for his horse, this gave the beast extra strength. They also told him of the site of a seam of silver at his mine. Elizabeth was not happy with the fact that William was minting his own coinage and, on the pretext that he was ‘coin clipping’ had him arrested at his home in Bolton-by-Bowland. William was supposed to have escaped by leaping his magic horse over the Ribble at a place now called ‘Pudsay’s Leap’. William was actually Elizabeth’s Godson which probably explains the fact that she pardoned him. The Rimington mines complex remained Mines Royal, whereby profits went to the Crown, until the silver mining operations ceased in the 18th century.

Keith Ashworth, of Barrowford, relates how he hand dug many tons of spoil at Rimington mines. This took place in the early 1950s when he was a chemistry student. The main purpose of this was to obtain barites as Andy describes above.

The 1826 – 1829 account book describes Rimington mine as ‘ Skelhorne Lead and Calamine Mine’.

The Northern Mine Research Society holds the following records:
Leases of Skelhorn Mine, 1775, 1822, 1914.
Craven Herald & Pioneer “Rimington Mines”, 1884-87, 92, & 93.

Extracts from Mining Journal, 1881, 85 - York and Lancaster United Mines Co. Ltd.
Field notes on Rimington Mine.
Lists of miners from the Rimington census returns,1841, 51, 61, 71 & 81.
Williamson, I.A. “The Skeleron or York and Lancaster Lead Mines”, 1959,
pp.46-50.
Dickinson, J.M. “The Rimington Lead and Silver Mines”, 1968, pp.21-22.
Public Record Office - BT31/2702/14554 - York and Lancaster United Mines Co. Ltd.

Edited by - BarrowfordJohn on 23 Aug 2004 15:35:37

[Stanley]

Bumped.

[Gloria]

Interesting article Stanley. You’ve got to love how he just landed up on the doorstep with all his retinue and took up residence.

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

Yes, an interesting read, thanks for posting it, Stanley. I have a copy of the book `Industrial Archaeology of the Tamar Valley' by Frank Booker (1967, revised 1971, Publ. David & Charles, Newton Abbot). It has a chapter on the silver-lead mines at Bere Alston in the lower Tamar Valley and I've added below a few facts taken from it.

Bere Alston silver-lead mines
Just north of Plymouth the River Tavy flowing from the north-west meets the River Tamar flowing from the north-east. The triangular land area between the two is known as the Bere Alston peninsula and it was known as a source of silver-rich lead as early as 1290 when men were recorded as digging up stones `very bright and the colour like unto lead'. The king already claimed ownership of all metalliferous mines and records show that in August to October 1294 he received 370 lb of silver ore sent to him from the quay at Martinstowe on the Tavy. To obtain enough men, by 1295 the king was impressing under royal warrant 340 miners `out of the Peak in Derbyshire' and others from Wales and this continued through the 14th Century.

The high wages drew in experienced miners from across Europe and they brought with them advances in techniques, one of which was the use of `avidots' (adits) to drain the mines. People often ask why the Tamar mines didn't bring in tin miners from Cornwall. The reason is that in those early days all tin produced in Cornwall was obtained by `streaming' and it was only much later when stream tin ran out that they started true mining.

The Bere Alston mines flourished for about 200 years then died down until the start of the 1800s when more modern methods and equipment began to be used.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Peter. It all adds weight to the research.....

[Stanley]

More good work by John Clayton that needs to be remembered!

[Gloria]

Just read it, then noticed my comment afterwards…….I’d read it before, the wonders of getting older . Still a good read.

[Stanley]

I find all of these reposts interesting for the same reason Gloria. None of us has memories that good!