Coal Miners
Coal mining on the west coast of Scotland developed later
than in the Lothians and Fife. There is little evidence that the
tied status of serfdom associated with earlier, east
coast
coal mining traditions ever applied in Ayrshire.
But, in privately owned mines, management has always attempted to
exert control over the lives of the workforce. In the 19th Century
this could take benevolent forms such as the subsidised provision
of schools. The running of company owned shops could be less
benevolent. Credit was extended to mining families. The resulting
debt could leave them unable ever, to release themselves from their
employer. Houses were built by the mine owners for the workforce
but this then enabled them to counter strike action by threatened
eviction. When strikes did occur, they were frequently attempts to
resist wage cuts.
After 1842, women and young children were banned from
underground work. Increasing leisure time allowed miners to indulge
in favourite pursuits such whippet racing and quoiting. Mining
villages were scattered widely across the Ayrshire countryside.
They were at the heart of the nation's industry but surrounded by
braes and streams. By the middle of the 20th Century these 'miner's
rows' were officially described as unfit for habitation. For many
of those brought up, in these overcrowded houses, within cohesive
communities, it was a rural existence whose passing they view with
regret.
Metal Miners &
Quarrymen
Most metal miners worked a 'bargain system.' This meant they
reached an agreement with the mining company and were paid by the
amount and quality of ore mined. It was a gamble, but if a miner
was lucky enough to work a rich part of the mine he could earn a
decent wage. 'Bargains' were taken out by a group of men and could
last from three months to a year. At the end of a bargain the
miners were charged by the company for the costs of tools, candles
and explosives.
Quarrymen, by contrast, were generally employed directly
by the company.
Miners and quarrymen were skilled workers and came from all
over Britain. Many of the
lead miners at Wanlockhead
were from the North Pennines and the Galloway mines
attracted men from Cornwall, Ireland and Wales. Welshmen also
worked in the Galloway granite quarries.
Many of the metal mines were in isolated areas and the
mining companies had to provide a system of social support for the
miners and their families. In the 1830s the owner of the Woodhead
lead mines, Colonel Cathcart, constructed a village for his workers
complete with a library and school and paid a 'liberal salary' to
the school-master and his assistant. At Wanlockhead the village
school was supported by the owner and operator of the mines, the
Duke of Buccleuch.
Hard physical work, shared dangers and occasional poverty
fostered a strong community spirit. Most of the region's mining and
quarrying communities had quoiting, curling and football clubs and
their own brass and silver bands. At Wanlockhead the miners also
set up and paid for their own subscription library. Metal miners
and quarrymen were strong supporters of friendly societies like the
Oddfellows and Foresters, organisations that could help a worker
and his family in the event of injury and provide funeral costs.
Trade unionism was never particularly popular.