PELSALL HALL. Walsall, Staffordshire. 14th. November, 1872.

The colliery was owned by Messrs. Morgan and Starkey and leased from Mr. Charles of Pelsall Hall, near Walsall. The workings were shallow and coal was got from about 50 to yards deep.

On the morning of the 14th November a man named Cash was driving a headway in front of the working face when he unexpectedly struck into an old headway. Water came from this in a very large volume which, in a few minutes, sealed the deep workings from the shaft and cut off all communication with the miners who were working there. Ten men happened to be near the pit bottom and escaped by catching the cage just before the inset into the shaft was closed by the water which quickly rose to 35 feet in the shaft.

One man had a lucky escape. He was driven by the rush of water through a small archway into the pumping shaft and on to the top of the cage which was at the bottom at that time. He was brought to the surface unconscious. Twenty-two men were cut off by the water and lost their lives

Efforts were immediately made to clear the pit of water and rescue the men. The pumping machinery at the pit was working at full capacity and large tanks were fitted in both shafts and in about 180 hours, over six million gallons of water were raised. The Inspector, Mr. Barker, was present as these operations went on day and night and he acknowledged the devotion displayed by a number of engineers who unselfishly gave their services during the whole of this period.

The water came in a on a Thursday morning and about 6 p.m. on the following Monday the water level was sufficiently reduced and the gas cleared out of the mine to make it reasonably safe for men to go down the shaft. A few yards from the shaft bottom the roads were found choked with debris and the atmosphere was full of chokedamp. This destroyed any hope that anyone left in the mine might be alive.

Work went on to clear the debris and restore the air but the work was very slow and dangerous but after a week the bodies were reached. Ten men were lying together at the extreme crop of the mine where they had gone, no doubt to escape the water. All were dressed and their clothes were dry which indicated that the water had not reached them and it was evident that the men had died from the effects of gas. Cash and another were drowned and there was one body which was not recovered from the mine even after an extensive search which was hampered by falls and great exertions made by everyone in the mine.

Those who died were:

  • Thomas Starkie found in No.3 shaft.
  • Thomas Coleman found in the stable.
  • Michael Cash.
  • John Quarter
  • George Ball.
  • John Hubbard.
  • Thomas Hackward.
  • Charles Cash.
  • John Hayward.
  • Thomas Hollis.
  • Charles Cape.
  • George Castle.
  • Joseph Hollis
  • Edward Williams.
  • Charles Astlebury.
  • Richard Hyde.
  • Frank Dilkes.
  • Stephen Lawton.
  • John Roberts.
  • John Starkie.
  • Thomas Starkie snr.
  • One unknown
  • One not found.

The constant influx of gas from the old workings made access to the scene of the inundation very difficult but when the point was reached it was very clear how the accident had happened. The Inspector did not reach the scene but miners had reached the point and gave evidence at the inquest into the men’s deaths. It was found that Cash had struck into the side of an old headway and the miners saw the hole that the water had made but from that point, it was too dangerous to make further explorations because of the gas that was present.

At the inquest, one of the men who was at work near the headway where the water broke in stated:

About a quarter of an hour before breakfast time Cash called out, “Here, here Harry come and see the River Dee.”  I went to Cash’s place and found that he had tapped into extra water. It as coming out at the right-hand corner at the end, and at a foot above the ground, in a stream nearly as thick as his leg, and about six inches above it was spouting out flat. The heading was between five and six feet higher. There had always been a good flow of water, but it had never come out so fast before. Cash went on with his work and I went on with mine. About fifteen minutes afterwards I heard a fizzing noise and cried out, “the water has broken in” and I ran towards the bottom. In the main road we met water that swilled on us.

The witness said that he did not see any danger in what he first saw at Cash’s stall and saw no reason to tell the manager or warn the other men. All the men working in the pit gave evidence that they had no idea that they were near old workings and the workings were several hundred yards away from the boundary of the lease and they expected to find solid coal all the way, having taken the mine as a maiden mine.

It was stated by workmen and expert witnesses that the coal seams at these pits and others in the district were subject to emissions of water which was due to deposits of sand a gravel in the strata immediately above the coal. There was no record of workings in the area and no signs on the surface that coal had been worked there previously.

Mr. Baker concluded his report by saying:

This sad accident is one of those cases which neither legislature nor those having responsible conduct of mines can either forsee or provide against. I consider it very desirable that the headway from which the water came, should be explored with a view to ascertain the extent and connection of any old workings that may exist in the neighbourhood, whenever the condition of the mine may permit which at present is very uncertain.

 

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

 

Return to previous page