A Compendium of British Mining

Joseph Yelloly Watson (1817–88) produced this short work for private circulation in 1843. For many years a mining agent with the London firm of Watson and Cuell, he became a fellow of the Geological Society and wrote on mining and historical subjects. Drawing chiefly on data from Cornwall, the present work gives details of mining processes, the layout of mines, the working conditions of miners (including figures for wages and working hours), and the typical management structure of a mine, with information on shareholders, profits and accounting. The work includes coverage of individual mining districts, including Gwennap, Camborne, Illogan, St Just, St Ives and Marazion in Cornwall, along with discussion of mines in Devon, Cumberland and elsewhere. Concluding with notes on the history of metal mining, followed by a useful glossary of mining terms, this remains a concise and instructive resource on a significant economic sector in the nineteenth century.