The Bargain Men

A poignant look back at the age of lead mining, of which all that remains are abandoned mines, smelt mills and a scarred landscape as a reminder of a bygone industry that once thrived in the Pennines. Using archive photographs and readings from the period, this documentary portrays the decline of lead mining in Swaledale, painting a bleak picture of the lives of the lead miners who bargained for work, often as individuals, and yet sharing equally adversity and hope.

In the century preceding the mid-1900s lead mining was a major industry, with Britain the world's leading producer. The lead fields stretched right across northern England, taking in Cumbria, Northumberland and Yorkshire. Miners would come from all over the British Isles to work in the lead mines, mostly self-employed or working in groups. They would bargain with landowners, or mining companies, for periods ranging from 3 months. The bargain was for how much they would be paid, according the amount of ore (known as bings) they mined, and how much fathom of seam they drove. The last mine closed in 1912, but miners were having to leave, some migrating to work in the US lead mines, well before then.