Misplaced Pages

#264735

48-583: The last operating mine, Elsecar Main, closed in 1983 and with its closure ended 230 years of mining in the village The colliery was started around 1750 by Richard Bingley but was taken over in 1752 by the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham and by 1757 comprised eight pits in and around Elsecar Green. The pits were sunk to a depth of 15 metres to exploit the Barnsley Bed . The pits were described as three air pits or ventilation shafts, two open pits, one closed pit, one working pit and one sinking pit. They were worked using

96-454: A design of saving my King and country...it greatly palliated my offence". Higham's mother wrote to his father: "Though I hope you won't tell it him, never any thing met with such general applause, in short he is the hero of these times, and his Majesty talks of this young Subject, in such terms, as must please you to hear...in the Drawing Room no two people talk together, but he makes part of

144-493: A faction of the Whigs led by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham , from about 1762 until his death in 1782. The Rockingham Whigs briefly held power from 1765 to 1766 and again in 1782, and otherwise were usually in opposition to the various ministries of the period. The faction came into existence in 1762, following the dismissal of the Duke of Newcastle 's government and

192-419: A horse gin – a horse powered winch. From 1750 until about 1795 the pits employed around nine men. In 1782 the 2nd Marquis of Rockingham died and his estates were inherited by his cousin the 4th Earl Fitzwilliam . He expanded Elsecar Old Colliery and installed steam winding engines in 1796 and by 1848 the pit was employing 87 men and boys. The colliery was renamed Elsecar High Colliery in the same year. By now

240-635: A lifelong friend, political ally and advisor until Rockingham's death from influenza in 1782. Rockingham's administration was dominated by the American issue. Rockingham wished for repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and won a Commons vote on the repeal resolution by 275 to 167 in 1766. However Rockingham also passed the Declaratory Act , which asserted that the British Parliament had the right to legislate for

288-632: A pumping engine was added in 1823 when the shafts were deepened to reach the Parkgate seam . The colliery was expanded in 1837, with the addition of a new shaft at Jump known as the Jump Pit. By 1848 when the colliery was renamed Elsecar Mid Colliery and employed 121 men and boys. This colliery was abandoned in the mid-1850s as the Simon Wood Colliery started production. Work to sink Elsecar Low Colliery started around 1840 but took 6–8 years to complete and

336-627: A reassertion of royal power. They were prepared to unite with reformers of all kinds to preserve the constitutional settlement of 1689. But their essentially aristocratic and oligarchic character prevented them from collaborating with " Country Party" reformers advocating radical or populistic measures. They also opposed the British position which led to the American Revolution and sought reconciliation after it. The writer and philosopher Edmund Burke , who served as Rockingham's private secretary,

384-489: The 1st Earl of Strafford , Lord Rockingham was the second son of Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Baron Malton (1st Earl of Malton from 1734) and the former Lady Mary Finch, daughter of the 7th Earl of Winchilsea . He was brought up at the family's lavish home of Wentworth Woodhouse near Rotherham in Yorkshire , and became Viscount Higham on his elder brother's death in 1739. He was educated at Westminster School . During

432-593: The American War of Independence . Due to rising unemployment, in this second premiership, Rockingham's administration saw the passage of Gilbert 's Act, the Relief of the Poor Act 1782 , after 17 years of opposing Thomas Gilbert's ideas, this saw the creation of unions of civil parishes , later officially called unions under Gilbert's Act , to provide outdoor relief and set up workhouses . Paul Langford has asserted that

480-566: The Dearne & Dove Canal which was given parliamentary approval in 1793 and reached Elsecar in 1799. Before the completion of the canal the coal was either sold locally or shipped by cart to Kilnhurst on the River Don. The colliery had three shafts, two for coal winding and one pumping shaft. They were 120 feet deep where they reached the Barnsley seam . Steam winding engines were installed in 1796 and

528-549: The Jacobite rising of 1745 , his father, Lord Malton, made him a colonel and organised volunteers to defend the country against the " Young Pretender ". Lord Higham's sister Mary wrote to him from London, saying the King "did not doubt but that you was as good a colonel as he has in his army" and his other sister Charlotte wrote that "you have gained immortal honour and I have every day the satisfaction of hearing twenty handsome things said of

SECTION 10

#1732852619265

576-821: The Parkgate seam at 333 metres. Other seams worked were the Silkstone , Thorncliffe and the Swallow Wood seams . The Haigh Moor, Lidgett and towards the end of the colliery's life, Kents Thick seams were also mined. The colliery closed in October 1983. 2: The Selby Coalfield straddled the border of North and West Yorkshire Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham , (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and The Marquess of Rockingham from 1750)

624-593: The American colonies in all cases whatsoever. However, internal dissent within the cabinet led to his resignation and the appointment of Lord Chatham as prime minister (the Duke of Grafton was appointed First Lord of the Treasury , one of the few cases in which those two offices were separate). Rockingham spent the next sixteen years in opposition. He was a keen supporter of constitutional rights for colonists. Rockingham wrote to Edmund Burke on 14 February 1771: "I fear indeed

672-704: The Blues and their Collonel". The march of the Jacobite army into northern England caused the Wentworth household to flee to Doncaster and Higham rode from Wentworth to Carlisle to join the Duke of Cumberland in pursuit of the "Young Pretender". He did this without parental consent and Cumberland wrote to Lord Malton, saying that his "zeal on this occasion shows the same principles fix't that you yourself have given such strong proofs of". Higham wrote to his father that Cumberland "blamed me for my disobedience, yet as I came with

720-473: The Duke of Portland leading a coalition of Whigs. The Whig party further split over the French Revolution , with Burke writing to Fitzwilliam on 4 January 1797: "As to our old friends, they are so many individuals, not a jot more separated from your Lordship, than they are from one another. There is no mutual affection, communication, or concert between them". The Whig historian Thomas Babington Macaulay

768-660: The House of Lords. But, though not a great orator, he had in a high degree some of the qualities of a statesman. He chose his friends well; and he had, in an extraordinary degree, the art of attaching them to him by ties of the most honourable kind. The cheerful fidelity with which they adhered to him through many years of almost hopeless opposition was less admirable than the disinterestedness and delicacy which they showed when he rose to power. Canada United States Thesis Rockingham Whigs The Rockingham Whigs (or Rockinghamites ) in 18th-century British politics were

816-467: The Rockingham administration "represented a landmark in constitutional history. The ministerial changes of 1782 involved a more extensive upheaval among office-holders than any since 1714, virtually replacing one administration with another drawn from opposition". Rockingham's second term was short-lived, for Lord Rockingham died fourteen weeks later at the beginning of July from an influenza epidemic. He

864-624: The Rockinghamites made concessions to the Patriots' demand for Irish legislative independence. They sought and failed to obtain a permanent solution that would have involved British control over external legislation and Irish control over internal affairs. They also failed to implement British party models in Ireland. Rockinghamites Charles James Fox and Burke were actively involved in Irish issues, says Powell,

912-686: The West Riding, Lord Lieutenant of the city and county of York, as custos rotulorum of the North and West Riding, as custos rotulorum of the city and county of York and as Vice Admiral of York and county. Over the next several years, Rockingham gradually became the leader of those of Newcastle's supporters who were unwilling to reconcile themselves to the premierships of Bute and his successor, George Grenville . The king's dislike, as well as Grenville's general lack of parliamentary support, led to his dismissal in 1765, and, following negotiations conducted through

960-643: The Whigs outnumbered the Jacobites four-to-one and there were "no Persons of rank about the Pretender". He also noted that "the vile spirit of Jacobitism" was greatly declining. When in Herrenhausen , Hanover , he met George II of Great Britain and made an impression: the King told Malton's uncle Henry Finch that he had never seen a finer or a more promising youth. In September 1750, two months before his father's death, he

1008-459: The [Glorious] Revolution, have been erected. ... What a medley of government is probably soon to take place & when it does what an alarm will ensue! Rockingham resigned as Lord of the Bedchamber on 3 November 1762 in protest at the King's policies and other Whigs associated with the Duke of Newcastle did the same. The next month the King removed Rockingham from the office of Lord Lieutenant of

SECTION 20

#1732852619265

1056-627: The abject state to which the Constitution may be reduced". On 24 May 1771 Benjamin Franklin arrived from the Rectory of Thornhill, where he had stayed with the Rev. John Michell, vicar to Rockingham's kinsman, fellow leading politician and keen advocate of colonists' rights Sir George Savile. Rockingham wrote to Augustus Keppel on 3 November 1779, saying that he believed the war against America could not be won, that

1104-582: The club rooms. The club held monthly meetings and a list written in June 1754 showed it had 133 members. In 1755 the King appointed him to the honorary office of Vice Admiral of the North. During a French invasion scare in 1756 Rockingham raised a volunteer militia at his own expense and when rioting broke out against Army enlistments Rockingham restored order without the use of military force in Sheffield. The Secretary at War , Lord Barrington , wrote to him: "You are

1152-565: The colliery was centred on the Milton Foundry. The colliery closed when its reserves were exhausted in 1888. Elsecar New Colliery was sunk around 1795 by Earl Fitzwilliam to the south of Elsecar Workshops and the site has its original Newcomen pumping engine. It was sunk to allow the Fitzwilliams to expand coal production and exploit new transport opportunities presented by the Elsecar branch of

1200-486: The discourse". In April 1746, his father was created Marquess of Rockingham and he himself assumed the courtesy title Earl of Malton . These honours came about due to the patronage of Henry Pelham . At this time the new Lord Malton was travelling across Europe under the tutorship of George Quarme, as his father had decided against sending him to Cambridge. During his stay in Rome , Malton noted that amongst Englishmen,

1248-500: The dismissal of many of Newcastle's supporters from their posts by his successor, Lord Bute , in the so-called "Massacre of the Pelhamite Innocents". For many years Newcastle and his late brother Henry Pelham had dominated parliament and government through their mastery of patronage and the "old corruption", to the point where King George II had proved incapable of dispensing with their services even when he desired to. When

1296-450: The explosion had been caused by reckless behaviour of the colliers; a ventilation door had been propped open which resulted in firedamp accumulating and some colliers using unguarded safety lamps. Earl Fitzwilliam's mine superintendent, Benjamin Biram was criticised by the inquiry for absence of printed rules in the colliery, inadequate maintenance of lamps and poor supervision of the workforce but

1344-466: The first significant coal was mined in 1848 when 1000 tonnes a day was being extracted (4). The major difficulty was the penetration of water into the workings and dealing with large amounts of firedamp . The colliery had two shafts, a winding shaft and a smaller diameter pumping shaft for draining the colliery. The colliery suffered a significant accident on 21 December 1852 when a firedamp explosion killed 10 miners and injured 12. The inquiry found that

1392-558: The former opportunistically and the latter with a genuine interest in reform. In 1782 they joined forces with other members of the Opposition to bring down the North government which had overseen the American War since the beginning, and was blamed for the surrender of the British army at Yorktown. The new government was led by Rockingham and began to seek peace terms, laying the foundations for

1440-511: The future struggles of the people in defence of their Constitutional Rights will grow weaker and weaker. It is much too probable that the power and influence of the Crown will increase rapidly. We live at the period when for the first time since the Revolution, the power and influence of the Crown is held out, as the main and chief and only support of Government. If we...do not exert now, we may accelerate

1488-480: The government was corrupt but not unpopular, and that the longer this continued the greater the danger to the liberties and the constitution of Britain: "Perhaps a total change of men and measures , & system in the Government: of this country might have effect on the councils of some foreign countries...who might think that it was no longer a Court system to combat, but that the whole nation would unite & make

Elsecar Collieries - Misplaced Pages Continue

1536-537: The hands of the very wealthy young aristocrat the Marquess of Rockingham, who soon gave his name to the group. Although the Rockingham Whigs were briefly brought into power in 1765, following the fall of the ministry of George Grenville , this ministry was based on an always uneasy relationship with the crown and collapsed a year later. In fact, the faction showed less interest in holding office than in preventing

1584-569: The histories of the Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires along with modern history. Murray wanted Rockingham to take after Sir Walter Raleigh . In 1752, Rockingham was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber to George II and married Mary Bright (1735–1804). In 1753 the Rockingham Club was formed, containing the first Rockingham Whigs. Rockingham hired James Stuart , of whom he was a patron, to paint portraits of William III and George II for

1632-580: The judge praised the ventilation arrangements in the pit which prevented extensive loss of life. Simon Wood Colliery was sunk to 85 meters to the Barnsley bed in 1853. The colliery with its two shafts replaced the Elsecar Mid Colliery and continued production until 1903 when it was replaced by Elsecar Main Colliery. Coal extraction proper began at Elsecar Main between 1905 and 1908 when shafts were sunk to

1680-402: The medium of the king's uncle, the Duke of Cumberland , Lord Rockingham was appointed prime minister. Rockingham recovered the honours of which he had been deprived in 1762. Rockingham appointed his allies Henry Seymour Conway and the Duke of Grafton as secretaries of state . Also at this time, Edmund Burke , the Irish statesman and philosopher, became his private secretary and would remain

1728-515: The new king, George III , came to the throne in 1760, he was determined to reassert royal power and take the patronage mechanism away from Newcastle and his faction. After their fall from power Newcastle and his remaining loyalists came together to oppose Bute and assert what they believed to be Whig principles dating back to the political conflicts of the previous century. The faction was heavily dominated by wealthy aristocrats, and because of Newcastle's advanced age, effective leadership soon came into

1776-785: The only instance of a Lord lieutenant's exerting the civil authority upon these occasions". Rockingham asked in 1760 to be made a knight of the Order of the Garter and the King consented. In 1760, George II died, and his grandson ascended the throne as George III . Rockingham was allied to the Duke of Newcastle and his supporters, whilst the new King had a favourite in Lord Bute . Rockingham believed that Bute and his supporters wanted to take "the whole Administration & Government of this country into their hands" and wanted Newcastle to resign now before he would be inevitably disposed of. Rockingham believed that

1824-490: The policy which his ancestor Lord Strafford had used in Ireland. Rockingham's speech was not well received, with Horace Walpole criticising him for venturing into "a debate so much above his force". Rockingham's uncle William Murray , the Solicitor-General, believed him to be poorly educated, so he employed Quarme as Rockingham's tutor again. Rockingham was for four months to study Demosthenes for oratory, and to learn

1872-442: The revolution in British politics since George III's accession was harmful to the country, since it removed the Whigs from their ascendancy which had settled the constitution and secured the House of Hanover on the British throne. Rockingham wrote to Newcastle: ...without flattery to your Grace, I must look and ever shall upon you and your connections as the solid foundations on which every good which has happened to this country since

1920-452: The second founders of the Whig party, as the restorers of its pristine health and energy after half a century of degeneracy. The chief of this respectable band was the Marquess of Rockingham, a man of splendid fortune, excellent sense, and stainless character. He was indeed nervous to such a degree that, to the very close of his life, he never rose without great reluctance and embarrassment to address

1968-580: The single-member borough of Higham Ferrers (Northants), along with twenty-three livings and five chaplaincies in the church. In July he was appointed Lord Lieutenant and custos rotulorum of the West Riding in Yorkshire, Lord Lieutenant of York city, and custos rotulorum of York city and county. In 1751–52 Rockingham joined White's , the Jockey Club and the Royal Society . Rockingham's maiden speech

Elsecar Collieries - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-530: The utmost efforts". Rockingham was recruited to hunt down the Cragg Vale Coiners . He had thirty Coiners arrested by Christmas Day 1769. In 1782 he was appointed prime minister for a second time (with Charles James Fox and Lord Shelburne as Secretaries of State) and, upon taking office, pushed for an acknowledgement of the independence of the United States, initiating an end to British involvement in

2064-483: Was a British Whig statesman and magnate, most notable for his two terms as Prime Minister of Great Britain . He became the patron of many Whigs, known as the Rockingham Whigs , and served as a leading Whig grandee. He served in only two high offices during his lifetime (prime minister and leader of the House of Lords ) but was nonetheless very influential during his one and a half years of service. A descendant of

2112-582: Was an admirer of Rockingham and his Whig faction: They were men worthy to have charged by the side of Hampden at Chalgrove , or to have exchanged the last embrace with Russell on the scaffold in Lincoln's Inn Fields. They carried into politics the same high principles of virtue which regulated their private dealings, nor would they stoop to promote even the noblest and most salutary ends by means which honour and probity condemn. Such men were Lord John Cavendish, Sir George Savile, and others whom we hold in honour as

2160-432: Was on 17 March 1752 in support of the bill which disposed of Scottish lands confiscated in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. He wanted the lands cultivated by people "employed in husbandry & handicrafts" who repudiated "plunder, rapine & rebellion". He said "the highlanders have remained in their ancient state, prolific, bold, idle, & consequently hives of rebellion". He compared his favoured policy with

2208-558: Was one of the faction's leading spokesmen in the House of Commons . They did not favor Irish constitutional goals but when out of power they used Irish problems to embarrass the government. During Rockingham's government in 1765–66, his faction was generally hostile to the Irish Patriot Party, but during the administration of Lord North in 1770–82, it supported the Patriots' charges of mismanagement of Irish affairs. In power again in 1782,

2256-455: Was raised to the Peerage of Ireland in his own right as Baron Malton and Earl Malton . On 13 May 1751 (his 21st birthday), Rockingham inherited his father's estates. The rents from the land in Yorkshire, Northamptonshire and Ireland gave him an annual income of £20,000 (equivalent to £4,000,000 in 2023). He also controlled both of the borough parliamentary seats of Malton and one seat for

2304-1117: Was replaced as prime minister by Lord Shelburne , who was more reluctant to accept the total independence of America and proposed a form of Dominion status, but by April 1783 he succeeded in securing peace with America and this feat remains his legacy. Rockingham was buried in the Strafford family vault in York Minster in Yorkshire. Rockingham's estates, but not his marquessate, passed to his nephew William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam . Burke wrote to Fitzwilliam on 3 July 1782: "You are Lord Rockingham in every thing. ... I have no doubt that you will take it in good part, that his old friends, who were attached to him by every tie of affection, and of principle, and among others myself, should look to you, and should not think it an act of forwardness and intrusion to offer you their services". On 7 July 150 supporters of Rockingham met at Fitzwilliam's house and decided to withdraw support for Lord Shelburne's administration. The old Rockingham party fragmented, with Fox and

#264735