MineArchiveBrereton Colliery Inrush
| Date | 15 February 1908 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Brereton Colliery |
| Region | Staffordshire |
| Type | Flooding / Inundation |
| Fatalities | 3 (Albert Curtis, 25; Henry Harvey, 17, a horse driver; and William Jarvis, 39, all recorded by Durham Mining Museum as killed by an inrush of water from water-bearing strata on 15 February 1908.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Water from a water-bearing stratum broke into the dip workings of the Coppice Pit at Brereton Collieries on 15 February 1908, drowning three men; a month later the bodies still lay entombed, management's efforts having gone entirely into keeping the main workings dry rather than recovering them.
Cause
An inrush of water from a water-bearing stratum in the workings, entering the dip workings of the Coppice Pit and drowning the three men working there.
What happened
The Coppice Pit at Brereton Collieries, Rugeley, was struck by an inrush of water from a water-bearing stratum on 15 February 1908, drowning Albert Curtis (25), Henry Harvey (17, a horse driver) and William Jarvis (39). A month later, on 18 March 1908, the Liberal MP Albert Stanley asked the Home Secretary in the Commons what was being done to recover the bodies. The Home Secretary, Herbert Gladstone, replied that the management's efforts so far had been directed entirely at preventing the water from flooding the colliery's main workings; no steps had yet been taken to unwater the submerged dip workings where the bodies lay, and no decision had been made on the subject. The water feeder, though decreased, was still flowing through the submerged workings at 500 gallons a minute, and Gladstone judged the work of unwatering the dip would in any case be long and difficult.
Investigation & inquiry
Gladstone told the House that if no inquest could be held, a special inquiry into the deaths would be desirable, and that he could not say when it would take place beyond hoping it would be soon.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
Whether the bodies were ever recovered, or what a subsequent inquiry found, has not been established from the sources read for this pass.
Memorials & commemoration
No memorial has been found for this disaster.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- A month after the inrush, no work had begun on recovering the bodies from the submerged dip workings; management's efforts had gone entirely into protecting the main workings from flooding. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…stratum broke into the dip workings of the Coppice Pit at Brereton Collieries on 15 February 1908, drowning three men; a month later the bodies…” - Inrush (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “An inrush of water from a water-bearing stratum in the workings, entering the…”
Sources
- (primary) Brereton Colliery Disaster, HC Deb 18 March 1908 vol 186 cc570-1 — Hansard, UK Parliament
- (secondary) Brereton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026