Scots Mining Company
The Scots Mining Company, or Scotch Mines Company,[1] was formed shortly after the Jacobite rising of 1715 by Sir John Erskine with the intention of better developing the mineral resources of Scotland.[2] Primary investors were largely garnered from expatriate Scots living in London.[1]
History
[edit]Following its incorporation by royal charter in 1729,[1] the Scots Mining Company procured leases for mines at Leadhills and elsewhere.[2]
The company was near bankrupt when, in 1734, the mathematician James Stirling was appointed manager.[3]
The systems of mining, social organisation and living conditions of the workers that Stirling introduced at Leadhills were revolutionary for their time,[2] including reducing the underground day to six hours, introducing health insurance and hiring a surgeon to directly improve the lot of the men. In addition, he concentrated on better housing, education and the founding of the Leadhill Miners Reading Society in 1741.[3] Many of these characteristic features of the company's paternalism were copied by other large mines.[1]
By 1830, the company was the largest and most successful concern working the lead mines at Leadhills.[4]: 1
Following a protracted court case regarding water rights with the rival Leadhills Mining Company the Scots Mining Company was wound up in 1861.[4]: 13
Operations
[edit]Leadhills
[edit]The area between Leadhills and Wanlockhead was the richest lead mining district in Scotland.[5]
The Leadhills concession was obtained from the Earl of Hopetoun[6] on whose land a significant deposits of lead and silver had been mined since 1513,[7] and a limited gold mining operation had begun in 1517.[8]
At the height of the trade in 1810, more than 1,400 tons of lead were being produced annually,[5] by a workforce of 200 men.[1]
Tyndrum
[edit]Lead was discovered on the Breadalbane estates in 1741.[9] Mines were operated by three companies prior to the Scots Mining Company acquiring the lease in 1768. The company began working the mines in a more systematic manner, including the establishment of a smelter locally.[10]
The Scots Mining Company pulled out in 1791,[4]: 1 though operations continued intermittently until 1858 when the mines were reacquired by the Marquess of Breadalbane, who worked them until his death in 1862.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Peter L. Payne (Ed.) (2013) Studies in Scottish Business History page 119-134 Routledge. ISBN 1136606599 Retrieved February 2015
- ^ a b c John Nichols (1853) The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 193, A Trip to the Gold Regions if Scotland p589-597, Publisher R. Newton. Retrieved February 2015
- ^ a b Colin Russell (2014) Who Made the Scottish Enlightenment? page 391, Xlibris Corporation, ISBN 1499091044 Retrieved February 2015
- ^ a b c Northern Mine Research Society (1993) Controversy and Contraction. The Water Dispute at the Leadhills Mines, British Mining No.48, NMRS. ISSN 0308-2199
- ^ a b A. Fullarton (Pub) (1856) The Topographical, Statistical, and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland (Volume2: I-Z) page 233 Retrieved February 2015
- ^ The Traveller's Guide through Scotland and its Islands (1829 - 5th Ed.) page 133 For J. Thomson Retrieved February 2015
- ^ Thomas Curtis(Ed) (1829) The London encyclopaedia, Volume 12, page 623 Printed for T. Tegg Retrieved February 2015
- ^ David Webster (1819) A topographical Dictionary of Scotland page 434 Retrieved February 2015
- ^ Roger Smith & Bob Aitken (2013) The West Highland Way: The Official Guide page 90 Birlinn. ISBN 0857906453 Retrieved February 2015
- ^ a b Cambridge County Geographies, Perthshire page 86 CUP Archive. Retrieved February 2015