History | A Miners Life

The Miner at Work
Lead miners were used to working in cold, wet, dark conditions and tried to bring some comfort to themselves where they could. Their day started with a walk to work, carrying their 'bait' for lunch which they ate underground.

The miners collected their tools and candles from the mine shop and often changed their clothing so that they could put it on dry again to go home. They usually worked in 8 hour shifts.

Some miners, who were brought in from other areas, lived in Lodging Shops close to the mine. These buildings were filled with narrow bunks that one shift got into as another left for work! The shops may have been warm and dry but they were often cramped and smelly.

Miners suffered from 'black spit' - a condition that developed from inhaling too much dust. If they were lucky, they might live to be 50 but a miner's working life often ended by the time he was 45.

Keeping the Cash Flowing
The 'bargains' made by partnerships were for so much per fathom of ground cut or so much per bing (8 cwt) of ore produced. If a group 'struck it rich' they worked all the hours they could. If they'd gambled poorly, they were in danger of not earning anything - and the cost of candles and gunpowder had to be deducted from the final price.

Miners were paid once a year, which was a long time to wait, so the London Lead Company advanced them a monthly subsistance payment. If, at the end of the year they'd been paid more than they'd earned, their loss was carried forward to the next period.

Fortunately for the Nenthead miners, the London Lead Company didn't believe anyone should go hungry just because they'd made a bad bargain. At the suggestion of Thomas Dodd, the Chief Mine Agent from 1785 to 1816, the Company agreed that the bargain struck would guarantee a regular minimum wage to allow the miner to feed, clothe and educate his family.

'We Can't Work in Winter'
In some ways the men and boys on the dressing floors had a harder, more 'hum drum' way of life.
They spent much of their time with their arms deep in cold water, crushing and washing the ore ready for smelting. In winter, when the water froze, it was impossible to work outside so they found other work underground or in the workshops. The gradual introuduction of water-powered machinery made life slightly easier.

Click here to read the poem "Four Pence a Day" from the 1860s.