Clay Cross Colliery inundation, 1861

About three in the afternoon of 11 June 1861 a Clay Cross miner saw water oozing in his stall. The warning went round by way of the deputy's son and reached the deputy two hours later, just as a torrent of black shale water from the old No. 1 workings broke in. Most men got out, the last swimming to the chain; twenty-three did not. The plans had shown a forty-yard barrier of coal that had in fact been worked away, and it took twenty-two days to reach the dead.

Cause

Water accumulated in the No. 1 workings broke into No. 117 stall of No. 2 pit because the coal barrier had been worked 42 yards beyond the boundary shown on the working plan.

Contributing factors

The manager's plans omitted the extra working, so what he took for solid coal forty yards thick was where the water came through. Dawes reported the oozing to the deputy's son rather than the deputy; a deputy forgot to warn a boy and three men; deputies on the south side were slow to pass the warning; some men would not wade the water and others, unable to open a door, would not go another way.

What happened

Alfred Smith first took the roar for trams, then sent his son to warn every deputy and got his own men out as the water came in. Many escaped as it rose; the last man saved swam to the chain, pulled others to safety and was drawn up by the men he had saved. Of those left, four bodies were later found at the foot of No. 1 incline on the north side, thirteen at the foot of Dun's incline on the south side, five near the foot of the horse road and one in the back level.

Rescue & recovery

The shaft held eight or nine yards of water and pumping lowered it only inches a day; a stage built to pump the old No. 1 shaft broke under the water's weight, and conductors broke when water was lifted from the upcast. A large tub was worked in the downcast and a drift driven from the Foundation pit at about nine yards a day. Rumours that men survived on a ledge faded after eleven days, and the bodies were recovered after twenty-two.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest the coffins were viewed by the jury, and relatives often identified the dead only by their clothing. The verdict was accidental, but the jury found the coal had been worked beyond the planned boundary without evidence of by whom, named five workmen as blameable under the colliery rules, and recommended a qualified substitute whenever a deputy was absent.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

A relief fund of £2,000 was raised, headed by £500 from the company; widows without children received 8s to 9s a week with coal, and widows with children 12s to 14s.

Changes to practice & legislation

Geri Walton draws two lessons the company took from it: accurate, up-to-date plans of every working, and two shafts with an escape on the rising side above the bottom.

Recorded claims

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

• Twenty-three were killed when water broke into the workings on 11 June 1861. ^1,2
• Natty (Nathaniel) Dawes saw water oozing in his stall about 3 p.m. and told the deputy's son Timothy Smith, who could not leave the incline brake and told his father Alfred only at five, just before the water broke in. ²
• The manager, Mr Binns, believed a pillar of coal 40 yards thick protected the new workings from the water in the old; the plans he worked from were inaccurate, and the jury found the coal had been worked 42 yards beyond the boundary shown. ²
• It took twenty-two days to recover the bodies of twenty men, three boys and sixty-five horses. ²
• The jury found five workmen, Nathaniel Dawes, Thomas Britton, George Silkstone, Benjamin Wright and James Booth, blameable for neglecting their duty under the colliery rules. ²

Related terminology

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

• Abandonment Plan (contributing factor)
  The working plans were inaccurate.
• Deputy (contributing factor)
  The warning reached the deputy two hours late.
• Inrush (direct cause)
  Water from old workings broke in.
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  The water came through No. 117 stall.
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “Alfred Smith first took the roar for trams, then sent his son to warn every deputy and got his own men out as…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Clay Cross Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Clay Cross Inundation of 1861: A Terrible Tragedy — Geri Walton

Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 13 September 2026