Bold Colliery roof fall, 1895

Two colliers at Bold Colliery, St Helens, were killed by a roof fall on 2 September 1895, and the inquest jury called for officials to be made to visit their men more than once a shift.

Cause

The roof fell at a slip running parallel with the coal face, capping three props.

Contributing factors

The fireman had not visited the working place since eight o'clock.

What happened

On 2 September 1895 two colliers, William Hughes, 43, and Thomas Murphy, 40, were working at the face at Bold Colliery, St Helens, when the roof came away at a slip running parallel with the face, capping three props and killing them both. The fireman had not been to the place since eight o'clock, when he had told them to set a row of props.

Investigation & inquiry

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, but presented that an official should be legally compelled to visit the people under his charge more than once during each shift.

Recorded claims

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

• On 2 September 1895 two colliers, William Hughes, 43, and Thomas Murphy, 40, were killed by a fall of roof at the face at Bold Colliery, St Helens. ^1,2,3
• The roof fell to a slip running parallel with the face of the coal, capping three props. ^1,2,3
• The fireman had not visited the place since eight o'clock, when he told the men to set a row of props. ^1,2,3
• The jury returned a verdict of accidental death but presented that an official should be legally compelled to visit the people in his charge more than once in each shift. ¹
• The colliery belonged to the Collins Green Colliery Company Ltd. ^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 cause: “The roof fell at a slip running parallel with the coal face, capping three props.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two colliers at Bold Colliery, St Helens, were killed by a roof fall on 2 September 1895, and the…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “The fireman had not visited the working place since eight o'clock.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “Two colliers at Bold Colliery, St Helens, were killed by a roof fall on 2 September 1895, and the inquest jury called for officials to be…”

Sources

1. (primary) Bold Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames M part 8 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames H part 7 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026