Barlborough Colliery roof fall, 1906

On 11 August 1906 two elderly datallers at the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's Barlborough No. 1 Colliery, near Clowne, were killed when the roof at the junction of a new road and an old one collapsed on them as they prepared to build a pack.

Cause

Collapse of the roof at a junction of new and old roads in the Top Hard seam, after the men had set an extra prop under a reeling bar.

What happened

Jarvis and Brocklehurst had been sent to the place where a new road crossed an old one, to build a pack across the old roadway. The old road was closely timbered, but one of the props supporting a bar was reeling over slightly, so they set another prop beside it. As soon as that was done the whole of the roof at the junction of the roads came in and killed them both.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• On 11 August 1906 two datallers, William Hemingway Jarvis, 69, and William Brocklehurst, 68, were killed by a fall of roof at Barlborough No. 1 Colliery, near Clowne, belonging to the Staveley Coal and Iron Company. ^1,2,3
• They had been sent to build a pack across an old roadway where a new road crossed it. ^2,3
• The old roadway was closely timbered; when they had set an extra prop beside one that was reeling over, the whole roof at the junction of the roads collapsed. ^1,2,3

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “On 11 August 1906 two elderly datallers at the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's Barlborough No. 1 Colliery, near Clowne, were…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…datallers at the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's Barlborough No. 1 Colliery, near Clowne, were killed when the roof at the junction of a new…”
• Dataller (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “On 11 August 1906 two elderly datallers at the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's Barlborough No. 1 Colliery,…”

Sources

1. (primary) Barlboro' No. 2 Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) NMRS mining deaths: William Hemingway Jarvis, Barlborough No. 1, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society (mining deaths database)
3. (secondary) NMRS mining deaths: William Brocklehurst, Barlborough No. 1, 1906 — Northern Mine Research Society (mining deaths database)

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026