An Account of the Founding of H.m. Inspectorate of Mines and the Work of the First Inspector, Hugh Seymour Tremenheere.

There is considerable information about the origin of H.M. Inspectorate of Mines scattered throughout the reports of the many Royal Commissions which have investigated the industry. Such information is normally in the form of a bare chronological recital of events with special emphasis on legislation. Other accounts are few and, with the exception of Boyd (1879), consist similarly of short historical summaries (Bryan, 1950; Morrah, 1927; and Bridgmore Brown, 1960). Yet no institution grows successfully from a welter of blue print documents. The present-day organization of a complement of 185 inspectors into neat regions covering the main coalfields with a central headquarters in Londonand theirwell-defined duties and responsibilities to each other, to management and to men, have been formulated as a result of the practical experience of individual inspectors about whom we know little. The creative contribution of the early inspectors to this behaviour pattern is especially great as their mandate was vague and opportunity for exercise of personal discretion was inevitably greater. This paper evaluates the work of Hugh Seymour Tremenheere, the first inspector, and is based largely on his publications, his private papers, and his diaries. It is necessary, of course, to refer briefly to conditions and events in the mining industry prior to his appointment in 1843.