Children and women working in the pits

Christine Amsden a friend from the Upper Dales Family History Group has some excellent data on the numbers and ages of children and women working in the lead mines in the Yorkshire Dales.    This wonderful photo is from
http://www.mylearning.org/lead-mining-in-the-yorkshire-dales/images/1-548/ and shows The Old Gang Smelt Mill which served a number of mines. The Old Gang Mining Company was a large and important employer. Galena was brought from mines spread all over these hills and some neighbouring valleys to be smelted

Take a look at http://www.dalesgenealogy.com/oldgangworkers.htm and
http://www.dalesgenealogy.com/hurstminers.htm from Christine’s site

Part one of the Ashley report 1842 “First Report on Children in the Mines” led to the 1842 Coal Mines Act prohibiting the employment underground of all female labour and boys under ten.

There is also an excellent website at http://www.balmaiden.co.uk/WomenUK.htm
which outlines the many roles of women in pits and those in the Yorkshire Dales
were some of the earliest.   Congratulations to the webmaster for superb information:

Although records are often sparse with regards to mining employment pre 20th               century in the UK, the most useful records for family history purposes  include the 1842 Royal Commission into the Employment of Children at the Mines, From these records the following indexes and have been prepared:

Index for 1842 Commission for Cornwall
Index for 1842 Commission for Cumberland  Coal Mines
Index for 1842 Commission for North Durham & Northumberland Coal Mines
Index for 1842 Commission for Durham, Cumberland  & Northumberland Lead Mines
Index for 1842 Commission for Forest of Dean Mines

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