Clough Hall Colliery roof fall, 1901

A great fall from an unsecured cavity above the main haulage crut of No. 18 Pit, Clough Hall Colliery, Kidsgrove, on 12 September 1901 buried the shifters finishing its repair, killing four and injuring the under-manager and an overman.

Cause

A large fall from an unsecured cavity above a retimbered haulage crut, in bad ground over old workings in the Bullhurst seam.

What happened

An earlier fall on the main haulage crut of Clough Hall's No. 18 Pit, near the shaft where the crut crossed the Bullhurst seam at a place where old dips had been driven, had left a large cavity in bad ground above the roof. The crut was retimbered with five large bars, with runners and laggings over them, but the roof and sides of the cavity itself were not properly secured first. On 12 September 1901, while a number of men were finishing the repairs, a large fall from the roof and sides of the cavity broke down or reeled out the new timber and filled the crut for seven yards.

John Farr, Patrick Loydon and Richard Shaw were dead when they were got out, and William Turner died on 20 September; all four were shifters. An under-manager and an overman were also injured. The inspector judged that the officials in charge had made a grave error of judgment in not first securing the roof and sides of the cavity above the crut.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector found a grave error of judgment on the part of the officials in charge of the work, who had not first properly secured the roof and sides of the cavity above the crut.

Recorded claims

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

• On 12 September 1901 a fall of roof on the main haulage crut of No. 18 Pit, Clough Hall Colliery, killed four shifters: John Farr, Patrick Loydon, Richard Shaw and William Turner. ^1,2,3,4,5
• A cavity left by an earlier fall in bad ground was not secured before the crut beneath it was retimbered, and a large fall from it broke down the timber and filled the crut for seven yards. ^1,2,3,4,5
• Farr, Loydon and Shaw were dead when got out; Turner died on 20 September; an under-manager and an overman were injured. ^6,2,5
• The inspector found a grave error of judgment on the part of the officials in charge. ^2,3
• The colliery was owned by the Birchenwood Colliery Company Limited. ^1,2,3,4,5

Related terminology

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

• Crosscut (contextual relationship)
  Named 8 times in this record, first in the summary: “A great fall from an unsecured cavity above the main haulage crut of No. 18 Pit, Clough Hall Colliery, Kidsgrove, on 12 September 1901…”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A great fall from an unsecured cavity above the main haulage crut of No. 18 Pit, Clough Hall Colliery, Kidsgrove, on 12 September…”
• Old Workings (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…unsecured cavity above a retimbered haulage crut, in bad ground over old workings in the Bullhurst seam.”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…its repair, killing four and injuring the under-manager and an overman.”
• Undermanager (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the shifters finishing its repair, killing four and injuring the under-manager and an overman.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Accident record: Patrick Loydon, Clough Hall No. 18 Pit, 1901 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Clough Hall No. 18 Pit, 12 September 1901 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Farr, Clough Hall, 1901 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Richard Shaw, Clough Hall, 1901 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: William Turner, Clough Hall, 1901 — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) Clough Hall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026