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HINXWORTH, HERTS.

Following the discovery in the late-1840s that the fossils in the Cambridge Greensand were a matter of commercial proposition a new industry began that was to have enormous impact on many villages in the Eastern counties. Known by the trade name of coprolites, the fossil deposit contained not just phosphatised droppings of creatures living in the seas and on the coastal plains of Cretaceous Britain but also the teeth, bones, scales and claws of dinosaurs. The more famous dinosaurs of iguanodon, megalosaurus, dinotosaurus, craterosaurus and dakosaurus were found, as well as the marine lizards of ichthyosaurus, pliosaurus and plesiosaurus and the bird pterodactyl. But it wasn’t just dinosaurs. Fossils of prehistoric elephant, hippopotamus, oxen, bear and horse were excavated as well as fossilised trees and numerous marine organisms - the most notable being ammonites.

Not only were they of interest to the students of the new science of geology but also the religious academics hotly debating Darwin’s controversial theory of evolution. Many drawing room had its fossil collection and the country’s museums had shelves filled with fossils from the Greensand. But the main reason why they were extracted was not for the pursuit of academic science but commercial reasons.

Britain’s growing population during the Industrial Revolution needed feeding. Experiments to increase food production included adding a whole range of materials to the soil. Blood, bones, soot, fish, seaweed, chalk, clay and even rags were trialled. The most effective was animal bones but the nation’s farmers couldn’t supply the demand. The battlefields of Europe were scoured for bones, the pyramids of Egypt were emptied of mummified cats and even Italian catacombs were reported robbed for their bones. Loaded onto ships they were taken back to the “dens” of the coastal manure manufactories. Britain was described as a “ghoul searching the continents for bones to feed its agriculture.” So, when a cheaper and abundant deposit of fossil bones was discovered in Cambridgeshire there was, as the local historian, Richard Grove, described, “The Cambridgeshire Coprolite Mining Rush.”

Chemical analysis of the nodules showed them to contain between 50 and 60% calcium phosphate. Ground to a powder and dissolved in sulphuric acid the resultant mass was superphosphate of lime - the world’s first artificial chemical manure. Manure manufacturers from Ipswich and London cashed in on this cheaper raw material than the other popular manure of its day - guano - phosphate rich bird droppings.

They were first worked in Burwell in 1846 and pits opened in Chesterton in 1849. The deposit was found a few metres beneath the chalk marl in a shallow bed of Cambridge Greensand which lay above the gault clay. It was simply a matter of a coprolite contractor getting an agreement with the landowner to raise the fossils. He then took on a gang of labourers, bought a horse or steam-operated washmill and some tools and started digging. On average £100 an acre was paid and about 250 tons were raised from each acre (0.404ha.). A trench was dug at one side of the field with the topsoil and subsoil on one bank. Once the fossil seam was exposed pick axes and shovels were used to extract it and, thrown into wheelbarrows, piled near a mill ready for washing and sorting. The seam averaged about 39cm. thick but in places was over a metre. The soil above the seam on the new face was removed after undercutting it and thrown into the trench behind. Backfilling meant the labourers gradually progressed across the field and onto adjoining property where a new lease was sought.

During the enclosure of Ashwell and Hinxworth in the late-1850s considerable drainage work was undertaken in an attempt to bring the clay soils into cultivation. The largest landowner in the parish, the Revd. Robert Clutterbuck, described his holding at that time.

“The estate lies at the bottom of the Chalk escarpment of the London basin, and covers a portion of the lowest bed of the Chalk, the outcrop of the Greensand, and a portion of the gault of the Greensand formation. In several parts a superficial drifted gravel and sand overlies the older beds. The Greensand separating the Chalk from the gault is very thin, and, if collected in a distinct layer, would not exceed three inches in its thickest part.”

(Clutterbuck, Robert, (1877), ‘The Coprolite Beds at Hinxworth,’ Trans. Watford Natural History Soc. Vol. 1. p.238)

The fact that clay pipes were now available much cheaper and in greater quantities due to mass-production enabled Clutterbuck to take advantage of them to bring his newly enclosed Gault land into cultivation.

“In the years 1856-8 Mr. B. Denton carried out some drainage works for me in the parish of Hinxworth, over an area of 800 acres... I necessarily became aware of the existence on my own property of the seam which contains the coprolite bed. The discovery by Liebig of dissolving bones in sulphuric acid for the purpose of manure had at that time given a commercial value to these phosphatic nodules and they were eagerly sought for by the manufacturers of mineral phosphates for agricultural purposes. “

(Ibid.p238)

The surveyor and engineer, John Bailey Denton of London, would have read in the press that these fossil bones were being exploited on a large scale in Suffolk as well as in Cambridge and neighbouring parishes. The business was also bringing in considerable fortunes to all those involved. In order to exploit their economic potential he went into business with a London merchant, Edward Dicey. (V.C.H.,Herts.vol.iii,1912,p232) On the 28th of October, 1856, they were granted a licence,

“...to dig work quarry and search for a certain mineral or fossil substance called or known by the name of coprolites in the parish of Hinxworth (Middle Farm and Hinxworth Place) in respective occupations of Richard Sale and Edward Sale and to occupy a piece of land (30 on Estate Plan) Hill Field and to dig work and quarry the coprolites there found to raise and bring to the surface and then to wash dress grind crush and make merchantable and fit for sale and the same to take carry away convert and dispose of for their own use... and to dig work and make such Adits pits trenches tramways winzes drifts cuts and watercourses and to erect such sheds buildings and machinery and also to sink such wells and construct such roads John Bailey Denton and Edward Dicey consider necessary or convenient for the effectual exercise of the liberty [this] licence powers..,.

(Herts.R.O. 28250)

The licence entitled them a period of twenty one years with an arrangement to pay Rev. Clutterbuck £20 for each excavation and that every quarter they should pay him one eighth of the coprolite’s sale price with a stipulation that it should be no less than five shillings a ton (£0.25). Another important clause in their agreement was that they agree

“...to deposit, restore and replace all surface and upper soil and so level and fill up all the trenches, wells and cavities to be made in a proper and workmanlike manner as to produce the least possible resulting or permanent injury to the surface of the ground.”

(Ibid.)

There was no indication that Messrs Sale were to be compensated for loss of land, only compensated for any crop or tillage damage. The licence actually granted them almost 500 acres, an enormous area, 247a.3r.35p. on Middle Farm and 222a.2r.36p. on Hinxworth Place Farm. (Fields 4,5,17-24,27-29,38-45,48 on Middle Farm and Fields 58-76,30 on Hinxworth Place)

They formed a company, “Messrs. Dicey and Denton,” and set up what potentially was a large-scale operation with washmills, wells and tramways. The type of operation involved attracted the attention of a group of visitors who were being taken to observe the advantages of a newly drained estate.

“Crossing the road eastward, the company passed through a field, and then came to a place where a very interesting process was going on - the washing of coprolites. These coprolites, it is generally, and with good reason, believed, are the fossilized dung of extinct animals; and, containing a large percentage of phosphate of lime, are valuable for manures. Mr Denton found them lying on the gault in the green sand, and, paying a small royalty per ton, he washes them free of sand and clay by means of a circular trough, into which water passes. A roller of iron spikes stirs up the sand by means of horse power, and this passes off below, leaving the coprolites at the bottom. Some curious relics of the antediluvian, or probably of the pre-Adamite, world are to be found among the coprolites. We picked up several shark’s teeth, belemnites, spines of aconites, fossilized oysters, bones &c; and the workmen engaged have found still more valuable remains of former ages. The coprolites are worth 38s per ton on the spot, or 40s at the rail, and we hope Mr. Denton will be repaid for his enterprise. He raises about 250 tons per acre.”

(Herts. Guardian,12th May 1857)

Potentially it was a lucrative business with about £500 being realised before costs. Because one eighth of the sale price was less than £0.25 Clutterbuck would have received about £60 per acre but considerably more when the prices manure manufacturers paid for the coprolites increased. Transport costs of £0.10 per ton must have proved a welcome source of income for local carters. Their horses hauled truckloads of the washed coprolites on a tramway along the “Ridgeway” to the main road in Ashwell and then on to Odsey mill. This was converted by the Fordhams to grind the coprolites. Here they were converted to fertiliser, a fact confirmed in April 1858 when the partnership, for some unknown reason, was dissolved.

The document relating to the dissolution stated that they had been involved in “manufacturing coprolites and manure made thereof at Hinxworth and Ashwell and vending the same.” (Herts.R.O. 28252) There was no indication of any disagreement between them but with Denton busy with the Ashwell enclosure, perhaps he saw opportunities elsewhere. He was compensated to the tune of £50, the equivalent of an agricultural labourers annual salary at the time, as well as being given the value of the farm crops. Dicey kept the coprolite plant and insisted,

“That in respect of a certain contract for the right to dig and search for coprolites on the land of Edward King Fordham at Ashwell entered into by the said Edward Dicey but not yet brought into active operation by him the said John Bailey Denton should release all his interests therein...”

(Ibid.)

This seems to have been the arrangement with Fordham that Clutterbuck referred to as having been entered into on the 30th of April. Whether it was in the April of 1857 or 1858 has not been confirmed or whether a further contract drawn up. It was determined that the economics of the scheme did not make the venture viable. Whilst a deeper seam would have incurred higher labour costs and pumping bills, the £1.90 - £2.00 per ton royalty was too low to make a profit. Prices must have improved by the end of the 1850s as the 1859 trade directory for Ashwell revealed the industry had really “taken off.”

“On both sides of the river large beds of coprolites have been discovered; they are extensively worked, and after undergoing some chemical change form the basis of a manure now largely used in agriculture.” (3)

The lack of documentary evidence leads to many unanswered questions, one in particular relates to those employed in these extensive workings. Many local people suggest gangs of Irish labour were involved but no evidence has emerged to confirm this. It is possible that a lot of the digging work took place over the winter months after the harvest was in and washing in the spring and that by the time the census was taken in April the men had gone on to work in other area. The fact that only one man was described in the 1861 census also leads to questions as there were none at all recorded in Ashwell. Perhaps those involved were busy with farm labour at that time or did not specify their labour in terms of coprolite or fossil work. The only Hinxworth employee recorded “At the Coprolite Works” was 18 year old James Bonus from Sutton in Beds. who lodged on the High Street. (Herts.R.O. 1861 census)

The development of the workings through the 1860s has not been documented but as demand for the coprolites rose in this period so did prices and Dicey’s profits and Clutterbuck’s royalties must have improved. The diggings must also have provided considerable employment for local labour and the fact that Bonus was a lodger suggested others from outside the parish must have been attracted to the area. This must have resulted in problems with accommodation and an increase in the number of beerhouse for the men which would have increased Revd. Clutterbuck’s workload somewhat.

The economics of the operation were mentioned in the paper Clutterbuck read at Watford in 1877 and it is interesting to note that yields had reduced by almost 50% with sale prices increasing 25%.

“As regards the yields and money value of these nodules some of these papers (Messrs. Jukes-Brown, Fisher and Bonney,) give the average yield as 140 tons per acre and 50/- per ton value - the land being restored to its original level and condition by the contractor. The value of the seam however necessarily depends on the depth below the surface, which at a certain depth, say 18 or 20 feet, fails to yield a profit to the digger. In Cambridgeshire, where the depth of the seam is inconsiderable, one hears of very large sums having been realised. In my own case the depth is so uncertain, and the nuisance of the coprolite diggers, an especially rough lot, so great that I not long ago declined an offer made for turning over some 10 acres during three years. “

(Clutterbuck, R. op.cit.p.238)

How long Dicey worked in the area is unknown but with the prospect of 21 years it seems reasonable to expect his gang of labourers raised the shallowest deposits first and when prices rose, worked the deeper seams. It was interesting to note that the reputation of the diggers was bad enough to have a land owner prefer a bit of peace to extra prosperity but perhaps Clutterbuck’s religious convictions must have held sway over profit. Despite this, agricultural land values varied between £1.50 and £2.50 an acre during the late 19th century and most landowners in the area realised the financial advantages of having the fossils dug.

The 1871 census shows quite an interesting picture with twenty seven men and boys describing themselves as “fossil diggers.” Bonus had apparently moved and there was no evidence of Dicey. He may have engaged someone to take charge in his absence as 31 year old Edward Clark Pettengal from Guilden Morden was described as “Foreman of Fossil Diggers” living in a “Fossil Hut” with his wife and six children. Apart from William Morgan who lived at Bury End the others all lived in the village. The idea that there had been an influx of diggers from other parishes was not evident as only five were born outside Hinxworth. The ages ranged from 54 year old Samuel Squires to his son, 14 year old Lovel Squires. An examination of their age structure, shown below, reveals the dominance of teenagers, with only slight evidence of them being sons of diggers. (Herts.R.O.1871 census)

Age Structure of Hinxworth’s Coprolite Diggers 1871 - 1881

1871 1881

14-19 11 1

20-24 4 4

25-29 6 1

30-34 3 1

35-39 1 2

40-49 0 3

50 + 2 0

(Ibid.)

Evidence shows the Pettengal or Pettengel family from Guilden Morden was much involved in the industry. Eli was “Foreman of Coprolites” in Guilden Morden in 1861 aged 21 and, progressing from a beer retailer in 1858, 50 year old William was “Coprolite Foreman” in Apsley End, Shillington. In 1866 Edward had been given a licence to work over five acres of Northfield in Ashwell with William Izzard who had also been a beer retailer and in 1871 was one of the “Coprolite Foreman” at Guilden Morden. (O’Connor, B. ‘The Coprolite Industry in Guilden Morden’; O’Connor, B. ‘Shillington’s Coprolite Industry)

Few documentary sources exist that reveal the extent of the industry during the 1870s when there were about 300 people living in the village. According to a local farmer, Mr. Sale, most of them were engaged in coprolite digging, which suggests there must have been a considerable expansion during the decade. There had been an increased demand with other manure companies coming into existence across the country but with only 70 houses in the village he suggested many householders took in “copperliters” as lodgers, thus supplementing their income. (Kiln, A. “The Coprolite Industry,” Putteridge Bury College,(1979),p.55)

Whether Dicey’s agreement of 21 years was completed is unknown as no further documentation as to his involvement has emerged but Clutterbuck’s unwillingness in the mid-1870s to grant a new lease could suggest Dicey’s labourers had worked the accessible deposit and were interested in new fields. Of course, other landowners may well have given permission to have their fields dug but no evidence of this has emerged.

When the diggings finally came to a close has not been recorded but the 1881 census shows that there were still twelve men involved. Whether they were working pits in Hinxworth or those in Ashwell is unknown but there was no foreman recorded. The eldest were two 44 year olds, David Barton and Nimrod Folbigg with Frederick Rombold, the youngest at 17. The average age was 30.8, considerably older than in 1871 and the age structure shown above shows how the early twenties was still the most dominant age-group. As in 1871 there were still a significant number of men over 30. What was also revealed was the fact that four men, 35 year old George Stanton, 44 year old Nimrod Folbigg, 27 year old Walter Harradine and 32 year old George Gurley had all been working the pits back in 1871, suggesting a fairly stable workforce. Only two were born outside the parish, one from London and the other from Essex. Allen Barton lived at the Public House and apart from four living at Bury End, the rest lived on the High Street. (Herts. R.O. 1881 census)

Fortunately, some detail of the work involved was documented in the 1860’s when Audrey Kiln interviewed some locals who were able to give her first or second-hand information about the work. Their details about the industry form the basis of the rest of this account.

Many of the diggers started in their youth on basic digging work and, in time, progressed through other aspects of the work to become quite experienced at it. A great deal of heavy labour was involved in digging trenches to reach the seam but occasionally the fossils were scattered within the subsoil which necessitated extra labour. William Sale, remembered when he was,

“...transferred to the job of sifting and carrying away the earth removed by the diggers. It was customary to have young lads working at the bottom of the trenches in order to handle this work, part of which involved loading and carrying a three stone tin of fossils up the planks to the pit top for removal to the washing mill. He was twelve, and his wages had been increased to the munificent sum of 5/- per week...

The boys worked in pairs, one pair to a digger and they were kept very busy. Their day started at 8am. and they finished for the evening at 6pm. They were allowed half an hour for lunch and worked a six-day-week. Referring to those times as “the good old days”, he said that had he been working on the land, his average wage would have been 2/- per day. When one realises that at that time the national average wage for adult men engaged in agriculture was 8/- to 10/- per week, it is little wonder that the local men preferred to work the pits than the land.

On wet days, the boys practised walking the planks, imitating the skilled barrow runners and preparing for the time when, as adults, they would take their place as runners. The less experienced men usually started working at the bottom �kench’, where there was little fear of falling from the planks when the soil was being shifted. As the men gained more experience they were promoted to higher 'kenches’, where the work was obviously more risky. The layers of coprolite were dug out by shovel or crowbar and care had to be taken to watch the sides of the trenches for cracks. Mr. Street said that collapses were fairly frequent and sometimes men became trapped beneath fallen earth. It was customary to have a man standing on the top of the trench watching the sides, ready to shout a warning to those below at the first sign of trouble. The depth of the pits varied from as little as 12 feet, but 20 feet was considered about the normal depth both for the safety of the men and for the economics involved.

Mr. Sale told of the horse-play that used to go on among the more experienced diggers, much to the consternation of those below apparently. “I was told of men who actually stood on their heads on the uppermost planks and of one man who actually used to cartwheel along the length of the top plank. Mr. Street couldn’t remember an incidence of a barrow falling off.”

(Audrey Kiln, “The Coprolite Industry,” Putteridge Bury College,1979,pp.40-41)

It would appear that these gymnasts were not confined to the this area, as Walter Tye in his work on the Suffolk workings, mentions men, “reputed to have stood on their heads on the topmost plank. This explains their keenness for joining the Navy after the pits were closed.” ( Tye, Walter, (1930), ‘Birth of the Fertiliser Industry,’ p.7)

“Inspection of the planks each morning was routine, usually undertaken by the foreman but, if he was not available, then by the most experienced diggers. On cold or frosty mornings it was usual to turn the planks and fasten them very securely before commencing to use them as “roads.”

...Planks were also tested for flexibility. Taut boards were considered unsafe and were not used by the copperliters. Sometimes a loud crack announced a plank failure and the men on the bottom dived for cover. The carriers quickly accustomed their bodyweight to the bend and whip of the planks they were walking over with their loads and walked with the ease of men traversing solid road surfaces. I was told, however, that those working below always kept a wary eye open whenever the boards were being walked.

As the diggers reached the bottom of the seam, water started seeping in and working became very uncomfortable. Black sand, oozing with black water, quickly soaked through even the thickest boot and froze the workmen’s feet, also making them very sore. It was often necessary to lay a pipe in the bottom of the pit in an attempt to drain off the water. Below a certain depth, however, this was not possible because the water dripped from all sides into the trench. Mr. Sale also spoke of a small engine-driven pump sometimes used by the copperliters. This was portable and fired with wood or coal.”

(Kiln, op.cit.pp.41-4)

The tools used by the men - picks, crowbars, spades and shovels - may well have been produced the foundry in Bassingbourn with the barrows, trucks, planks, timber etc. made by a local carpenter. The type of digging necessitated iron tools which would not wear away too quickly and another Hinxworth man, Mr. Street, described one used in this area.

“...the shaft was of metal, about two foot long and a wooden T-shaped handle, about 5 inches wide, was fixed into the top of this. The blade was narrow, the top being about four inches, narrowing to 2 inches, with an overall length of 6 inches.”

(Ibid.pp.43-4)

This seemed to be a specialised digging tool to cut through the heavy clay and fossil seam and quite different to the broader type which would have been used for shovelling up the fossils. Once the fossils were barrowed to the surface the horse-drawn carts would have taken them to be washed in “Hinxworth Barns,” a process described by Mr Street.

“The eaves in the barn he estimated at 20 feet high. Housed in the barn was a portable steam engine, fired by wood and coal, which was connected by a belt to a huge wooden wheel which Mr Street said missed the roof by inches. Underneath the wheel was a large washing trough. The wheel had large metal cups attached to each strut. The fossils were placed into the trough and water was let in through a pipe. The wheel was driven by the engine and as the cups passed through the trough they picked up the fossils, carried them round, and replaced them in clean water at the bottom of the trough. The slurry was then released from the trough by removing a large plug. Until recent years, part of the wheel could be seen standing outside The Barn, but unfortunately there is no record of its existence now.”

(Ibid.p.32)

More than likely this and other metal remnants of the industry would have been sold as scrap but there were reports of contractors in financial difficulty who, for convenience, simply buried old equipment in the pit. After being washed and sorted, the coprolite was placed into 'tip barrows’ which were about 4 feet high. As mentioned earlier, these barrows were run onto a metal track by a tip driver who had five carts to one horse. The track, known as the ‘Greenway,’ ran along the Ridgeway to the Ashwell Road. The coprolite was tipped out of the wagons onto the side of the road or track, where they were then picked up by ‘the transporter’ using a horse and cart and taken to the mills at Odsey or Royston.

“During one of Mr. Street’s trips as ‘tip driver’, one of the wagons slipped a wheel from the iced-up metal rail. In attempting to replace it, he trapped his index and second fingers on the right hand and these fingers are still very badly bent. This accident necessitated absence from work, which in those days was unpaid. Additional expense was incurred by visits to the doctor who, upon being told that his patient worked at the ‘diggings’, is reputed to have reported that “Blood letting was good for copperliters; it released some of the ale from their blood!”.

(Kiln,p33)

Details of the drinking habits of the men can best be seen in the account for the village of Ashwell. However, Audrey Kiln included some reference to it in Hinxworth.

“The copperliters not only worked hard they drank hard. Mr. Street recalled one digger whose normal ale capacity was 20 pints per day. The digger used to send one of his boys round to the local (they were open all day in those times) with a wooden bottle shaped like a miniature beer barrel which held one gallon and cost one shilling to fill. He claimed that the men were seldom drunk during working hours as their capacity for beer (which, he says, was good and strong in those days) was such that they could work off any effects in very little time. “

(Kiln op.cit.p.51)

These stories have a striking resemblance to those of Ashwell. Another feature of village life was the Hinxworth feast which must have attracted many of the local diggers and there were often cases of rowdy behaviour with drunken men brawling. (Royston Crow, July 13th 1877; W. Tye, p3. Kiln,p.22)

Mr. Street started coprolite work with his father when he was only ten and his task was to sort out the washed stones and remove such items as stones or pebbles unacceptable by the manure manufacturers. He claimed that women and girls were also engaged to do this sorting for comparatively low wages of only £0.15 a week.

“To avoid cutting their hands on the sharp-edged shells they used a wooden scraper to push the coprolites from side to side. Refuse was thrown over their shoulders and any items of interest, such as sharks’ teeth, were collected and sold to supplement their earnings.”

(Ibid.p38)

No evidence from the census returns confirms female involvement in Hinxworth although in some parishes large numbers were recorded. It is possible they were taken on temporarily after the washing and would not have appeared as such in the census.. Young boys received similar wages when they first started but when Mr Street was twelve he was strong enough to carry a three stone tin of coprolite, got promoted to a “carrier” and had his wages increased to five shillings (£0.25) a week. This was a considerably better rate than the two shillings (£0.10) he claimed he would have received if he had been engaged in agricultural work but slightly better than his Suffolk counterparts who earned the same wage for carrying a four stone tin! (Tye, W. op.cit; Kiln,p.40.)

“The ‘ganger’ or foreman, averaged the same money as the diggers but in most cases they did no digging, but merely supervised the working of the others and estimated the amount of soil removed per digger in order to calculate their wages. The job of digger was a highly prized one. A good digger could earn from £1 to £2 per week, depending on the amount of earth removed. Mr. Street described the diggers as very strong, hefty men, many of them originally agricultural workers. Many Irish labourers also joined the teams of men and shared their prosperity.”

(Kiln,p39)

This claim that Irish labourers were employed has been made for numerous parishes in the “coprolite belt” but census data has not been able to confirm it.

Whilst numerous archaeological finds were uncovered during the diggings in other parishes only one incident was reported in Hinxworth. One of the diggers, a Mr. Tom Hedger,

“had the good fortune to turn up an earthenware vessel containing silver coins all imprinted with seven stars. These he sold, according to Mr. Street, for a handsome profit, which enabled him to become landlord of the then vacant ‘Three Horseshoes’, a less arduous and far more lucrative occupation.”

(Kiln op.cit.p47)

When the work was completed the lease required the contractor to level and replace the topsoil and revert the land for agricultural use. This was not always done according to the stipulations however as Mr. Sale, a Hinxworth farmer, reported that once the digging had been finished,

“The abundance of coltsfoot or cow parsley along hedges and in previously dug fields attests to the bad management of this part of the early workings.”

(Kiln, op.cit. p.48)

Today there is little evidence of the industry in Hinxworth. It was a short-lived but profitable venture which had a significant impact on the village residents and the 19th century economy.