Buddle, bing and ginging...the lost language of our lead miners is recalled in book sold for £17,000

IT might not be everybody's idea ofa summer beach read, but an obscure dictionary of Derbyshire mining terms from the 1800s sold for a groundbreaking £17,000.

- By TELEGRAPH REPORTER

Jim Spencer, from Rare Book Auctions, who sold the glossary, said: “We had hoped a couple of collectors might lock horns, but goodness me, what an amazing result.”

The dictionary, which had been expected to make £300-£600, sold to an archivist who specialises in regional dialect. With auction fees, the buyer paid almost £22,000 for the lexicon.

The mainly handwritten manuscripts, dated 1821, include definitions such as “grace o’ God” meaning the lucky finding of ore by accident, while a “gavelor” is an officer among miners.