Warren James
| Warren James | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July , 1792 Parkend, Forest of Dean |
| Died | 26 October 1841 Hobart, Australia |
| Resting place | The Parish of Trinity, Hobart, Australia |
| Occupation | Miner |
| Known for | Miners' leader during the Dean Forest Riots |
Warren James (1792–1841) was a miners' leader in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, who led the Foresters to action against the Crown, in 1831.
James' father, also Warren James (1751–1809), married Ann Kear (1755–1836) in 1777. At first they lived in a rented cottage in Bream, but in 1782 they moved to an encroachment cottage, which they had built on land between Parkend and Whitecroft. A map dated 1787 shows the family house as being on the southern edge of Parkend, and describes it as a 'Turf' cottage, built on encroached land, and valued by the Crown at 15 shillings per year. Warren James (the younger) was born in July 1792, and was baptised at Bream Chapel on 29 July 1792. He was the fourth son, and sixth born, of nine children.
The younger James appears to have had no formal education, although later documents show that he could read and write as an adult. Along with his six brothers, he followed his father to become a miner at an early age.
Little is known of his family life, though the family were undoubtedly impoverished. Encroachment cottages were single storey, built of loose stones and covered with turf. They had no windows, only a low door, a crude fireplace with chimney, and a floor paved with stones. Life must have been very hard for a large family living in such conditions; and all the time, hanging over them, was the threat that the Crown could destroy their home and remove them from the land. This was to happen in 1813, when the house was demolished and the land it was on replanted with trees.
Now aged 20 or 21, James moved with his mother to Bream. He never married.
No photographs of James exist, but the following description of him, aged around 40, is given on a prison document:
Height - 5feet 3 inches
Complexion - dark
Head - round
Hair/Whiskers - black to grey
Visage - oval
Forehead - long, sloping back
Eyebrows - brown
Eyes - hazel
Nose - sharp
Mouth - large
Chin - medium
Remarks - stout
Although conjecture, he may also have looked young for his age, as the same document describes him as being 30 on arrival in Tasmania, when he was in fact 40.
The Forest of Dean is home to tremendous natural resources; primarily timber, coal and iron ore. These had been exploited on a small scale since before Roman times, but the possibilities of large scale extraction had not escaped the attention of the Crown. Free-mining rights had been granted to foresters at least as far back as 1244, but there had been a long tradition of disputes between the Crown and Foresters over these rights. In 1612 the Earl of Pembroke attempted to enclose extensive areas of forest. In an effort to preserve their rights, the Foresters took him to the Exchequer Court and won. There had also been previous riots, such as those which took place in 1631 when Sir Giles Mompesson built three new coal mines.
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