FARNACRES. Farnacres, Durham. 23rd. October, 1840.

The Wheel’s Pit, Farnacres Colliery, Dunston, near Gateshead, a rush of water filled the pit in the morning of the 23rd shortly after midnight, when five men were engaged in the workings. The colliery had not been working for long and on the morning of the disaster, the banksman heard a noise like thunder and filled that shaft was completely filled with water which had reached the top and was overflowing. The pit was twenty-one fathoms deep and all efforts of the fifty horsepower pump to lower the level were to no avail. Greater pumping power was arranged and it was reported that the level of water was dropping.

Five men died; all men in the mine were killed:

  • James Rankin, sinker aged 40 years, left a wife and six children.
  • James Heslop, sinker aged 40 years, left a wife and child.
  • William Wilkinson aged 28 years, a widower with one child.
  • William Weatherby, aged 25 years, single.
  • Andrew Evans aged 25 years, single.

Wilkinson’s body came to the surface of the water when it had been reduced several fathoms below the top of the shaft.

The inquest was held before Michael Hall, Esq., at Mr. Thoburn’s, the Frame public house near the pit to which the body had been removed. The following were sworn on the jury, Mr. John Thompson (foreman) and Messrs. Thomas Thompson, Joseph Blenkinsopp, George Grey, John Young, Allison Bell, Robert Surtees, William Hunt, Robert Dodds, John Fawcett, Robert Thoburn and John Stokoe.

Two witnesses only were examined, Thomas Wetherby, of Low Bensham, the overseer of the colliery, and Thomas Dobinson, one of the pitmen.

Thomas Wetherby, examined by the Coroner, deposed that be was last in the pit at 3 o’clock in the afternoon of Oct 22nd when the pit was in a proper state and all persons employed in the workings thought themselves as safe as at their own homes. There were five men down and at four o’clock when the came to the bank, they reported the pit to be perfectly safe, so far as they could tell. Five other men went down at four and remained till ten when they were replaced by the five now dead, one of whom was witness’s son. Shortly after 12 o’clock in the morning of the 21st, word was brought that the pit was filled with water and he went down to the pit mouth. It was then nearly full but did not run over till four or five hours afterwards. He could not tell the cause of the accident. The pit appeared to him perfectly safe. He had heard that the colliery was worked 80 or 90 years before.

Mr. Forster, the underviewer, stated that his instructions were, that no expense was to be spared to protect the lives of the workmen under his charge the pit was to be kept safe at whatever cost and the day before the accident the pit was drier than he had ever known it before. There had never been a flow of water previously. He had two sons engaged in the pit and would not have exposed them to peril if he had known of it.

Thomas Dobinson deposed that he was down the pit with four others, from 4 o’clock to 10 at night on the 22nd. The pit was then in a good working state, there was no apparent danger. At 10 o’clock, they were relieved by the men now dead. Not long after midnight, he heard of the accident and came to the pit. It was full of water and the five men were drowned. He believed the water had burst from the sides of the shaft but he could give no reason for thinking so. He saw Wilkinson’s body brought the bank on Thursday night.

Mr. Forster concluded by stating the cause of the accident, which he had now clearly ascertained. Shortly after the accident, four old pit shafts in the immediate vicinity presented themselves to view, the existence of which was previously unknown to any persons now living. They had been scaffolded over and covered with earth and when the water was withdrawn, the scaffolding had fallen in. From one of these pits, he had no doubt that the second seam of coal, fourteen fathoms down had been wrought. The seam which had been wrought in the Wheels Pit was the third and in sinking the shaft neither the first nor the second seam appeared to have been worked. The first was definitely unworked but it was now evident that the second seam had been worked a long time ago and he had no doubt that in sinking the shaft they had passed through a pillar of coal in the second seam and the fact that it had been previously worked was not apparent. The water accumulated in the old workings had burst through the remains of the pillar into the shaft. Unfortunately, there were no records of the old workings.

The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death”. The accident showed a necessity for the registration of plans.

 

REFERENCES
Annals of Coal Mining. Galloway. Vol.2, p.144.
Select Committee on Accidents in Coal Mines 1852-3.
Durham Chronicle.
Local Collections, collected with the Borough of Gateshead, 1837-39. Published by William Douglas, Gateshead, 1841.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.

Return to previous page