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An exposed surface vein at Keswick dating from c1569
© Courtesy of Ian Tyler
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Keswick's German miners |
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German technology
In the 1500s, England desperately needed copper, for the brass making industry, for coinage to mix with silver and to make bronze for canons. Sheet copper was also used in battery works, workshops which turned the copper into a variety of utensils. Later it was used for ships hulls as a streamlining crude armour plate.
The expertise of the German miners was far more advanced than that of the English, both in the underground work of tunnelling, pumping and hauling to retrieve the ore but, more importantly, in the art of separating and smelting the copper. In the 16th Century, the Germans led the world in mining technology.
Take a look at a photo gallery of German mines
German built mine at Grasmere in Cumbria
© Courtesy of Ian Tyler |
To enable the miners to reach maximum efficiency, Elizabeth created the charter of the Mines Royal which was augmented in the year of 1564. Under the leadership of Daniel Hechstetter, a mining engineer from Augsberg, this charter gave them the right to prospect and survey for mineral veins anywhere in the country. Their privileged position did not go down well with the natives who felt ousted.
Words: Ian Tyler
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