BARMEN

barmen, a town of germany, in the prussian rhine province and the governmental district of duesseldorf. pop. (1816) 19,030; (1890) 116,144; (1905) 156,148. it is served by the main railway from berlin to aix-la-chapelle, and lies immediately east of elberfeld, with which it virtually forms one town. it stretches for some 4 m. along the narrow valley of the river wupper, which, within the municipal boundaries, is crossed by twenty bridges. high wooded hills surround it. it is divided into three main districts, upper, middle and lower barmen, and is connected, throughout its length, with elberfeld, by railway, tramway, and a suspended trolley line, hanging over the bed of the wupper. it contains nine evangelical and two roman catholic churches, a stately modern town hall, a hall of fame (_ruhmeshalle_), with statues of the emperors william i. and frederick iii., a theatre, a picture-gallery, an ethnographical museum, and an exchange. there are many public monuments, one to bismarck another to the poet emil rittershaus (1834-1897), a native of the town, and one commemorative of the franco-german war of 1870-71. there are several high-grade public schools, academies of technical science, engineering and textile industry, and a missionary theological seminary. barmen is one of the most important manufacturing centres of germany. the rapid development of its commercial activity only dates from the beginning of the 19th century. it is the chief seat of ribbon weaving in germany, and manufactures thread, lace, braids, cotton and cloth goods, carpets, silks, machinery, steel wares, plated goods and buttons, the last industry employing about 15,000 hands. there are numerous bleaching-fields, print-fields and dyeworks famous for their turkey-red, soap works, chemical works and potteries. there are also extensive breweries. its export trade, particularly to the united states, is very considerable. the hills lying s. of the town are laid out in public grounds. here are a health resort, a tower commanding an extensive view, and numerous villas. barmen, although mentioned in chronicles in the 11th century, did not attain civic rights until 1808, when it was formed into a municipality by the grand-duke of berg. see a. shadwell, _industrial efficiency_ (1906), for a good description of the industrial aspect. barmote court (also written berghmote, barghmote, bargemote, barmoot), a name applied to courts held in the lead-mining districts of derbyshire, england, for the purpose of determining the customs peculiar to the industry and also for the settlements of any disputes which may arise in connexion therewith. barmote courts are of very ancient origin, having been in existence in the reign of edward i. their jurisdiction extends both to the crown lands in the duchy of lancaster and to those under individual ownership, comprising seven clearly defined districts. owing to the progress made in modern mining, many of the customs and much of the procedure had become obsolete, and their powers were regulated by the high peak mining customs and mineral courts act 1851. an appeal from the jurisdiction of the courts lies by way of _certiorari_. barmouth (_abermaw_, mouth of the maw, or mawddach, in cardigan bay, the only haven in merionethshire, north wales), a small seaport on the north of the estuary. pop. of urban district (1901), 2214. the ride to dolgelley (dolgellau) is fine. the parish church, llanaber, 1-1/2 m. from barmouth, is on a cliff overlooking the sea. barmouth is a favourite bathing place, on the cambrian railway. it is a centre for coaching in summer, especially to and through the vale of llangollen.