“In days of old ’twas here and there a cot,
Of architecture they’d little knowledge got;
None but a few free miners then lived here,
Who thought no harm to catch a good fat deer,
Or steal an oak—it was their chief delight.
Old foresters, I’m told, did think ’twas right
To steal an oak, and bear it clean away;
But caught, the jail a twelvemonth and a day
It was their doom, or else must pay a fine,
The which to do they did not much incline.* * * * *
“But noble miners there have been, I ken,
By their old works, stout, able-bodied men;
They’d not the knowledge then that now they’ve got,
To work by steam—hand-labour was their lot.
But I am told that many ages back
A foreign army did our land invade,
And blood and carnage then was all the trade;
They pitched their tents, and then without delay
They waited anxious for the bloody fray;
But our bold miners underneath did get,
And many a ton of powder there did set;
So up they blew the unsuspecting foe,
Their shattered limbs came rattling down below.
Our land thus cleared, our liberty thus saved,
Our noble miners dug the caitiffs’ grave.
The King with honour did them so regard,
Made them free miners as a just reward;
The Forest Charter to them granted was,
And firm and sure were made the Forest laws.
In former times they gloried in the name,
But now the foreigners have got the game.* * * * *
“The Forest now is numerous got of late,
Since moneyed men come here to speculate
Where once a little turfen hut did stand,
You’ll see a noble house and piece of land.
Deeper the pits than any here before,
The lowest vein of coal for to explore.
They were but shallow pits in days of old,
They’d not the knowledge then, as I am told;
But though there was not then great learning’s store,
It was much better for the labouring poor;
Men loved their masters—masters loved their men,
But those good times we ne’er shall see again.”
A mining population is generally found to have peculiar customs and privileges of its own, and such is more especially the case with the free miners of the Forest of Dean, who have had hitherto their own Court of Justice, with the exclusive occupation of the district, and the sole control of its mineral wealth. Their claims are thus specified by the Dean Forest Commissioners:—“Every free miner duly qualified by birth from a free father in the hundred of St. Briavel’s and abiding therein, having worked in the mines a year and a day, claims the right to demand of the King’s gaveller a ‘gale,’ that is a spot of ground chosen by himself for sinking a mine, and this, provided it does not interfere with the works of any other mine, the gaveller considers himself obliged to give, receiving a fee of five shillings, and inserting the name of the free miner in the gale-book. The gaveller goes to the spot selected with the free miner making the application, and gives him possession with the following ceremonies:—The gaveller cuts a stick, and, asking the party how many verns or partners he has, cuts a notch for every partner, and one for the King. A turf is then cut, and the stick forked down by two other sticks, the turf put over it, and the party galing the work is then considered to be put in full possession. The free miner, having thus obtained possession, is compelled to proceed with the work by working one day in the following year and day, and a day in each subsequent year and day (forfeiting the gale if he fails so to work), and to pay an annual sum of two guineas to the gaveller for each vein of coal he intends to work, till he gets at
the coal, after which he agrees with him for the amount of the composition to be paid to the King in lieu of his fifth, which, in case of their not agreeing, must be taken in kind by the King’s putting in a fifth man. The right to the gale is considered by the free miner to carry with it that of timber for the use of the works; this seems to extend no farther than to the offal and soft wood; and the mode of obtaining it is for the miner to apply to the keeper of the walk in which his mine is situated for an order, which he takes to the clerk of the Swainmote Court, who, on receiving a fee of one shilling, as a matter of course gives him another order directed to the keeper of the walk in which there is timber fit for the purpose,” in the following form:—
Copy of a Warrant or Order for the Delivery of Timber to a Coal Miner in Dean Forest.
“[Forest of Dean.] At the Court of Attachments, holden at the Speech House, the 25th day of Sep. 1784, came Phil. Hatton, and demanded Timber for himself and Verns, for the Use of their Coal Works called Young Colliers, in Ruerdean Walk, within the said Forest.
“Jno. Matthews, Steward.
“To Mr. John Bradley, Keeper of the said Walk.
(by Certificate.)“Some Timber to be delivered fit for sinking.
Indorsed ‘4 Oaks.’
“The miner cuts the timber when assigned, and until within about the last ten years paid a fee of two shillings to the keeper, there being no limit to the amount of timber if applied for the use of the works. If the gale-ground was situated within the hundred of St. Briavel’s, but belonged to private parties, the free miner still claimed his right to open the ground, the proprietor being let in as a partner, making a sixth, the only exception being churchyards, gardens, orchards, and Crown plantations.”
A jury of twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, or seventy free miners, under the auspices of the Constable of St. Briavel’s Castle, or his deputy, enacted such mine laws
as the interests of the body seemed to require, administering them without any appeal, or permission to resort to another court of law. The witnesses in giving evidence wore their caps to show that they were free miners, and took the usual oath, touching the Book of the Four Gospels with a stick of holly, [149a] so as not to soil the Sacred Volume with their miry hands. These singular usages explain the observation of the Rev. H. Berkin that “the inhabitants are completely sui generis,” and “their exact situation can scarcely be understood except by those on the spot,” as likewise the sentiment which the Rev. H. C. H. Hawkins expresses—“by altering the character of the Foresters, a curious relic of antiquity might be destroyed, to my regret I must own, as I feel desirous to preserve so singular a specimen in all its purity.”
In the year 1832 the Rev. C. Crawley stated, “I think the moral character of the inhabitants has been much improved by the building of churches; heinous offences are very rare in the Forest:” and in 1849 Mr. Machen said, “A great change has been wrought in them; there is a very great difference in their habits now, certainly.” [149b]
The Forest miners of the present day are well acquainted with the geological structure of their neighbourhood, more especially with the out-crop, succession, and dip of the mineral veins. In short, their natural endowments are fully equal to the general standard, and only require cultivation, as frequently appears from the quickness with which they detect the bearings of any pecuniary transaction, and their proneness to litigation. Many superstitions, however, still linger amongst them, such as the use of charms and incantations, a belief in witchcraft and an evil eye, a resort to “wise men,” and even to the minister of the parish as being a “Master of Arts,” or for some of the offertory money, out of which to have a charm-ring made. They are likewise inclined to give credence to tales of apparitions, and to regard sickness and accident as fated and inevitable. From their having been for so many generations an isolated and peculiar people, most of them are ignorant of the rest of the world, and have of course a correspondingly exaggerated idea of their own importance. It is pleasing to observe the sympathy they manifest towards the sick amongst them, or such as have been accidentally injured; and although most independent in their notions, and impatient of
control, they seem always thankful for real kindness. What they chiefly lack is more generosity and candour towards strangers, and a clearer understanding of their duties as protectors of the national property, in respect of the crops of timber which grow around them. [151] In most mining districts the moral habits of the people are more or less in a low state, and they are certainly not worse here than elsewhere. One source of evil arises from the large ablutions which their working underground necessitates. The process of washing on their return from the pit is not performed as privately as it might be, and the effect of this upon the moral perceptions of the people, huddled together in their small cottages, is very injurious. It is a pity some arrangement is not made for having washhouses at the pits, where a supply of hot water from the boilers might be easily obtained for the purpose.