A barmote court (also written bergjisote, barghmote, bargemote and barmoot) is a

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

held in the

lead mining Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...

districts of

Derbyshire, England Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, for the purpose of determining the customs peculiar to the industry and also for the settlements of any disputes which may arise in connection with it.

History

The barmote courts were set up in 1288, their jurisdiction extending to both the

crown lands Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

of the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

and those under individual ownership, comprising seven clearly defined districts. Great barmote courts with wider powers were in place by the fifteenth century, meeting at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...

. The courts had twenty-four

juror A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England dur ...

s, and were run by the barmaster and a steward. An appeal from the jurisdiction of the courts lies by way of certiorari, removing proceedings to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

. Noting that "the Mineral Laws and Customs of the King's Field ... ereuncertain and undefined, and ... in many respects inapplicable to the present Mining Operations", the High Peak Mining Customs and Mineral Courts Act 1851 and the Derbyshire Mining Customs and Mineral Courts Act 1852 were enacted, declaring that "the Mineral Laws and Customs ... shall be such as are mentioned and comprised in this Act, and no other alleged Custom or Practice shall be valid". The areas over which the courts could exercise their jurisdiction were: While giving certainty to the courts' territorial limits, this had the effect of ousting their

criminal jurisdiction Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in constitutional law and public law to describe the power of courts to hear a case brought by a state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime. It is relevant in three distinct situations: #to regulat ...

, as well as matters relating to

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

and

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s. While the Acts provide for

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

s and inspection of property, there are no provisions governing interrogatories or disclosure of documents.

Present day

There are two barmote courts, one at

Monyash Monyash (/muhn-ee-ash/ munyash) is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, west of the market town Bakewell. It is centred on a village green above sea level at the head of Lathkill Dale in the limestone area k ...

covering the High Peak, and one at

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

covering the Low Peak. In 1814, the Monyash court moved to Wirksworth, and since 1994, the two have met together, once a year, in April. In line with tradition, bread, cheese, clay pipes and tobacco are provided at the meetings, and a representative of the monarch who is the Lord of the Field attends. The courts' archival records are largely held at the Derbyshire Record Office. While most current meetings have been ceremonial, the courts' jurisdiction still exists, and in 2013 the Low Peak Barmote Court was called upon to rule on lead mining rights in a cavern in

Castleton, Derbyshire Castleton is a village in the High Peak district of Derbyshire, England, at the western end of the Hope Valley on the Peakshole Water, a tributary of the River Noe, between the Dark Peak to the north and the White Peak to the south. The pop ...

Notes

Treatises

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Jurisprudence

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External links