East Ardsley inundation, 1809

On Friday 30 June 1809 colliers of Lee, Watson and Company at East Ardsley, near Wakefield, broke into exhausted old pits while driving through a fault, and water flooded the workings. Ten men and boys drowned; four others were drawn up alive after three days and nights, a rescue that inspired a play.

Cause

The men were driving through a fault, or throw, when they came into contact with old exhausted pits nearby, and the water rushed through the opening with irresistible force, almost instantly flooding the pit where they were working.

What happened

The water stood ten or eleven yards deep in each of the two pits. Three lads near the mouth of one pit heard the running water and got into the bucket, or swarmed up the rope, and were drawn up unhurt, raising the alarm; eleven men and three boys were shut in below.

John and Aaron Haigh, brothers, were alive for some time after the flooding but drowned trying to get out. The other eight bodies were brought out once the water had subsided.

Rescue & recovery

Two engines were set to drain the pit, and colliers from the works of Messrs. Brandling, Smithson, Fenton, Wood and Walker joined the effort. On the Monday voices were heard from below, and two men and two boys, John Hudson, Robert Kendrew, William Broad and Joseph Goodyear, were drawn up alive and well. They had been three days and nights without rest or food except a little bread that Kendrew had in his pocket and shared among them, keeping only a quid of tobacco for himself.

Memorials & commemoration

The cottages at Spring Bottom where the miners lived became known locally as Who Could Have Thought It, a name shown on Ordnance Survey maps until about 1930, after which they became Haigh Hall Terrace. In 1818 the Rev. James Plumptre, vicar of Great Gransden, wrote a play about the four survivors, Kendrew; or, The Coal Mine.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The first newspaper report gave ten men and four boys drowned, then corrected it to six men. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• On Friday 30 June 1809 water from exhausted old pits flooded the workings of Lee, Watson and Company at East Ardsley, near Wakefield, and ten men and boys drowned. ^1,2
• Four of those trapped, John Hudson, Robert Kendrew, William Broad and Joseph Goodyear, were drawn up alive on the Monday after three days and nights underground. ^1,2
• The first newspaper report gave ten men and four boys drowned, then corrected it to six men. (disputed) ²
• In 1818 the Rev. James Plumptre wrote a play about the survivors, Kendrew; or, The Coal Mine. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s memorials: “…Gransden, wrote a play about the four survivors, Kendrew; or, The Coal Mine.”
• Fault (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Wakefield, broke into exhausted old pits while driving through a fault, and water flooded the workings. Ten men and boys drowned; four…”

Sources

1. (secondary) East Ardsley Flooding, 1809 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Who Could Have Thought It: an unexpected lead to my 5x great grandfather? (Past To Present Genealogy, 2021) — Past To Present Genealogy

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026