William Hood (1725 - 1764)

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William Hood, collier

William was born in 1725 at Gilmerton in Liberton Parish, Midlothian. He was the third son of David Hoods and Katherine Archibald. William was only 3½ when his father was killed at Dryden coalworks. His mother continued to work there until 1731 when the coalworks closed down. It's not known where she went after that. William was only 6 years old at the time the coalworks closed but this did not prevent him being asked to return to there 13 years later when it reopened.

In 1743 a new lease was given to work a previously untouched strip of coal at the edge of the Dryden estate. It included the right to use the 'bound' colliers belonging to the coalworks. William was considered to be a bound collier and so he had no option but to leave Gilmerton and return to the Dryden Coalworks. His brother James, then working at Sir James Clerk's coalworks at Loanhead also returned.

Soon after his return to Dryden, William married Isabel Miller, daughter of another of Carnwath’s bound colliers. At the time of the marriage, Isabel was probably still working as a coalbearer at Gilmerton in the parish of Liberton, so the proclamation of the banns of marriage had to take place in both Liberton and Lasswade. Unfortunately the actual dates of marriage are not shown in the Lasswade register between November 1744 and November 1746

Less than 2 months later in 1745 the birth of their son Thomas is recorded in the Lasswade baptismal register:

Born Janry 28 Bapt Febry 5
Hood Thomas Son to William Hood & Isabel Millar in Bilston Witnesses Thomas Pentland & James Wood there.

By l747 the strip of coal was worked out and the colliery closed down so the colliers were now free to go elsewhere. William returned to the Gilmerton Coalworks and stayed at Carthall, a small collection colliers houses just south of Gilmerton. In 1749, their only other known child, a girl named Isobel was born there, however she died on 6 December 1750 and was buried at Liberton.

William Hoods continued to work at Gilmerton until he was called back a second time to Dryden. A new lease had been granted in 1754 to William Johnston and two partners, to work the coal and limestone to the south-west of Dryden House, near Goukly Moss from which the new pit took its name. The terms of the lease included the right to recall bound colliers but as the coalwork was so badly managed, there was rarely work for more than six colliers at any time.

William Hoods was already at Goukly Moss by August 1756 and worked there at various times until November 1757; he didn't return to Dryden Coalworks again until December 1760.

At Goukly, the coal was carried to the surface up a series of stairs by coal bearers in creels or baskets on their backs; the bearers were mainly the wives and children of the colliers. Payment was made for each 'load' of coal produced - about two hundredweight of great coal.

When the coal was brought to the surface it was laid out for sale in the area known as the coal hill. The output of individual colliers was kept separate and laid out in 'heaps'.
At Dryden each heap consisted of five loads (possibly about 10 hundred- weight) but there was great variation in all coal measurments from place to place.
A list of the unsold 'Coall on hill' on 2nd May 1761; shows William Hoods as having 24 heaps (120 loads) unsold at that time.
  NAS Ref: CS.96/57/4

The next stage was selling the coal. At Dryden the sale of coal from the heaps of individual colliers was noted separately.
This page shows the coal produced by William Hood (or 'Hoads' as he called here) which was sold during the week beginning 6 June 1757.
Most of his sales are to named individuals but there are some unusual ones, for instance, in the following week there is a sale to the 'Barle mill Coalinton'.
  NAS Ref: CS.96/57/1

William continued to work at Goukly Moss until 17th November 1761, when the coalworks seem to have been abandoned by Mr Johnson and his partners. This was probably the last time William worked at Dryden.

In 1763 Mr Johnston was granted a new lease for the coalworks, but this time he did not choose to have a right to recall bound colliers included in it. Previously when the bound colliers had complained to Lockhart about their wages, Lockhart had supported them and forced Johnston to pay them higher wages then he could employ 'free' colliers for.

In July 1762 William Hoods returned to Gilmerton, but only three weeks later he asked to go to William Drummond's coalworks at Hawthornden, about a mile East of Dryden. The owner of Hawthornden wrote following letter to George Lockhart before deciding to hire William.

Dr Sir
There is one Hood a Coalier of yours who is desirous of coming here, & says he had your orders to apply to me for work sometime ago. However, as he has been about three weeks at Gilmerton, I do not chuse to remove him without knowing that it is agreed agreeable to you.
He has sent for Carts this morning to carry away his furniture, but I wait for your answer to this missive before I comply. You’ll therefore be so good as to let me know by the Bearer whether you incline that he should come to me, & in doing so you will oblige
Dr Sir
your most hum:servt
Wm Abernethie Drummond
Hawthornden
Augt 11 1762
My respectful Complimts to Mrs Lockhart, Mrs Gordon &c

Carnwath would almost certainly have agreed to this request as he was well-known for letting his colliers work where they pleased, and he would be aware that Drummond had no bound colliers of his own to rely on.

William would have visited the Dryden Estate one final time in June the following year for a 'birthday'. It was the usual custom for George Lockhart's bound colliers to return each year on his birthday, with their wives and children. At these 'birthdays' as they were known, drink would always be provided by Lockhart who they would acknowledge as their master; occasionally a dinner was also provided. A personal cash book of George Lockhart shows three such entries:

[pre 1758] Dinner and musick to my Coaliers on my birthday   £1-6—0
1762 June 29 - Given my Coaliers for to drink on my birthday   10  0
1763 June - Pd for a dinner & musick to my Coaliers on my birthday   1 16 6

From: To My Pocket - the Personal Cash Book of an Eighteenth Century Scottish Laird.;
S F McDonald Lockhart; Pentland Press 1984

Exactly a year later, William died and was buried at Liberton on 30 June 1764. The register of mortcloth payments also shows an extra payment of 12s 6d for the 'Bigg Bell'.

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David Hood (1693?-1727) | Thomas Hood (1745-18?)