Tough times for the lads at fourpence a day.
The eye-catcher at Killhope is William Armstrong's great water wheel, which was driven by reservoirs built into the hillside above.The system was fed by ditches which covered nine miles to gather water from every stream in the area.
The wheel hauled tubs of ore, turned the crushing rollers and powered the machinery in the adjoining jigging house.
Here, tubs of water are mechanically agitated to separate the lead ore from the waste.
If conditions were far from comfortable in the jigging house, they were immeasurably worse on the washing room floor which was exposed to the elements.
Working outside, 1,500ft above sea level, constantly wet and in often freezing conditions, boys would break up and separate ore which was then washed using water from the mine and processed in water tubs. A local song summed up the washer-boys' lives: "It's early in the morning, We rise at five o'clock, And the little lads come to the floor, To knock, knock, knock. So come my little washer boys, Come let's away, We're bound down to slavery, For fourpence a day."
If working conditions were bad, they were not much better off-duty.
The Killhope lodging shop accommodated miners who lived too far away to return home each day. They cooked and slept in what was a dirty and overcrowded building, sharing a communal frying pan over a peat fire and sleeping sometimes three to a bunk with a boy at the foot of the bed.
Working clothes were hung in front of the fire to dry overnight, creating a muggy and dusty atmosphere.
The restored lodging house has been at the centre of spooky business at night, with pieces from a draughts board being moved across a table after the building has been locked up.
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| Publication: | The Journal (Newcastle, England) |
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| Date: | Oct 25, 2004 |
| Words: | 295 |
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