Compatibility with Meech's Hyperion BarMaster Programmer allows the output voltage to be adjusted so that a single 906 unit can cover multiple static control applications.
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The bill was paid by the king's farmer and chief barmaster. There were usually about a dozen gentlemen, some of whom were members of the jury, while others were there to present a case to the Court. Also among the gentlemen were the steward of the court, who was a lawyer and who conducted the sessions. When the chief barmaster for the Wapentake, always a man of wealth and rank, was a local gentleman such as Sir John Gell of Hopton or his son John, the 2nd baronet, he often attended the Court himself.
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The barmaster or his deputy granted title in a mine, the usual name for which was grove or groove, on receipt of proof that it was viable. The proof was a standard container, a dish, filled with about of ore from the mine in question. Every dish was calibrated by the barmaster twice a year against a brass standard dish. The miner thus granted title to the mine was said to have freed it, either for old if a development in an existing mine, or for new in the case of a new discovery.
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The deputy barmasters whom the chief barmaster appointed were experienced local men. Some of them were yeoman farmer/miners and others local gentlemen.Slack 1991 The deputy barmasters actually ran the system. It was they who initiated much of the business of the Court.
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Everything about the old lead industry, from the mining of ore to its sale, stemmed from the ancient claim of the monarch to all mineral rights. The whole structure was designed to enable the Duchy of Lancaster, a royal possession, to collect the king's royalties and, since these were farmed out, the miners paid them to the king's farmer. By the 17th century the local holder of the mineral rights was also the barmaster, who ran the industry, helped by deputies responsible for the liberties, and by the miners' juries of the Barmote Court. The lead industry is long gone, but its traditions are still maintained and the barmaster and the jury still meet in the Barmote Hall in Wirksworth.
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Anyone had a right to dig for ore wherever he chose, except in churchyards, gardens or roadways. All that was needed for a claim was to place one's stowce (winch) on the site and extract enough ore to pay tribute to the "barmaster". The present Bar Moot building dates from 1814. Within is a brass dish for measuring the levy due to the Crown.
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The coveted and valuable farm of the Duchy of Lancaster's right to the lead mine duties, coupled as it was with the office of chief barmaster, endowed its owner with both a considerable income and authority over the running of the industry. It was always resold at a much higher price than that charged by the Duchy, which was £110 plus annual payments of £72 for the duties and £1-6-8d for the barmastership.
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If the current chief barmaster was an absentee member of the gentry or nobility he relied on his deputy barmasters. In addition to helping the barmasters to carry out their duties the 24 jurors brought practical experience to bear when the Barmote Court was adjudicating in disputes and trials. The main requirement of the jurymen was that they should be knowledgeable in mining matters and they included both working miners and, when it was thought necessary, local gentry.
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Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet The Gell Baronetcy, of Hopton in the County of Derby, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 29 January 1642 for John Gell, Hopton Hall, Derbyshire, chief barmaster in the wapentake of Wirksworth from 1638-1644\. The family gained importance and wealthy through their lead mining interests near Wirksworth. Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet received the baronetcy on the eve of the English Civil War, but fought for the Parliamentary side.
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In conjunction with the jury of 24 sitting at the Barmote Courts, the deputy barmasters adjudicated in disputes and enforced compliance with the customs of the mines. Their duties extended to acting as the coroner in the case of fatal accidents, where a specially summoned jury of twelve or thirteen local miners decided the cause of death. In an 18th-century example the Brassington barmaster, Edward Ashton, followed the rules after a death in Throstle Nest mine. > Wirksworth Wapentake March 26th 1761.
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It was they, in administering the rules, who determined whether a miner should have a particular mine or whether another should lose one. Their duties required them to be able to read, write and keep account of granting and removing title to mines and of ore production and the duties levied on it. As ore was brought from a mine, it was measured by the dish and the barmaster collected each 13th dish, a royalty or duty known as lot. This was the barmaster's reckoning.
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Slack 1988 Barmote Hall, Wirksworth It was the royal possession of the mineral rights and the royal wish to encourage lead mining, that dictated the two characteristic features of so-called "free mining". Any man who could demonstrate to the barmaster that he had discovered a significant amount of ore was allowed to open a mine and retain the title to it as long as he continued to work it, and, secondly, mining took precedence over land ownership. No land owner or farmer could interfere with lead mining, though there were many attempts to limit its damage. In 1620 the Duchy of Lancaster's tenants at Brassington complained that lead mining was poisoning their cattle.
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