There were lots of problems for the German miners at Keswick. They generally had the support of the crown, but not of the local landowners, who felt their property was being stolen. For example, Thomas Perry, the Duke of Northumberland, stopped the German miners from removing ore from the Goldscope Mine in Newlands on the basis that he owned the land and therefore the minerals. He said the workmen were trespassing.
Queen Elizabeth ordered the miners to continue their work. Percy refused to cooperate. A trial ensued to settle the matter, during which most of the prominent chemists and miners in England were either witnesses or members of the jury. Surprise of surprises!, Queen Elizabeth won the lawsuit. The minerals were deemed to be Crown property. (A few years later, Percy took part in the Rebellion of the North and lost everything, including his life.)
The Society of Mines Royal provided the miners and their families with tools, candles, materials, lodgings, clothes, food, and drink, which they offset against the men’s earnings. By the early 1600's, the enterprise was not profitable. The choicest ores had been taken and expenses had been heavy.
Because of the money which flowed into the district, everyone prospered, English and Germans alike. The distrust and hatred between the groups evaporated as the two nationalities started marrying. Many people in modern day Cumbria can find a few German ancestors. Even some of the names have a German flavor. In the first twenty years, the parish records show there were forty marriages between German men and English women. Of the descendants of Höchstetter family, one became Lord Mayor of London and another Dean of Carlisle.
The deep mining required special technologies. Multiple vertical shafts were sunk. One of these was to pump air underground for the miners. Another shaft was the means by which the spent air in the mine was exhausted. The air that was pumped underground had to be routed to the working face where the miners were before it was allowed to vent outward. Another shaft was for the purpose of pumping water from the mine. The technology of the Germans allowed the labor for these efforts to be done by horses. Some walked in circles with cogged wheels to translate their motion into driving the bellows. Others labored on treadmills. The water pump was operated by 32 horses on a four hours on, four hours off basis.
At Jamestown in Virginia, there were mineral men from Germany (also glass blowers). Some people have asked, “Why Germans?” The answer seems to be that the Germans were held in high regard for their skills. If I remember correctly, these Germans found iron ore near the future site of Richmond. This led to the construction of an iron smelting furnace there about 1622 which was destroyed by the Indians.
(03 Oct 02)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.