Farnacres Colliery inundation, 1840

Shortly after midnight on 23 October 1840 water from forgotten old workings burst into the newly sunk Wheels Pit at Farnacres Colliery, in the Team valley near Gateshead, and filled the shaft, drowning all five men below.

Cause

In sinking the Wheels Pit the shaft had passed through a pillar of coal in the second seam, about fourteen fathoms down, which had been worked long before and of which no record survived. Water standing in those old workings burst through the remains of the pillar into the shaft. Afterwards four old pit shafts, unknown to anyone living, came to light nearby, scaffolded over and covered with earth.

What happened

Farnacres Colliery had not been working long when, on the night of 22 October 1840, five men went down the Wheels Pit at ten o'clock to relieve the shift. The pit had been dry and thought safe. Shortly after midnight the banksman heard a noise like thunder in the shaft; he threw a stone down and heard it fall into water, shouted and got no answer, and within seconds the shaft was full to the top and overflowing. The five men below, James Rankin, James Heslop, William Wilkinson, William Wetherby and Andrew Evans, were all drowned.

Rescue & recovery

A 50-horsepower pump could not lower the water, and a larger engine was set to work. Wilkinson's body came to the surface nearly a month later, when the water had been drawn several fathoms down; the water was not fully mastered, and the other men recovered, for several months.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest was held before Michael Hall at the Frame public house near the pit. The overseer, Thomas Wetherby of Low Bensham, whose son was among the dead, and the pitman Thomas Dobinson gave evidence, and the underviewer, Mr Forster, explained the cause. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Changes to practice & legislation

The case was cited as showing the need for the registration of plans of mine workings.

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 pit was twenty-one fathoms deep. (disputed) ^1,4
• The shaft was twenty fathoms deep. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Shortly after midnight on 23 October 1840 water rushed into the Wheels Pit at Farnacres Colliery and filled the shaft, drowning all five men in the workings. ^1,2,3
• The banksman heard a noise like thunder, threw a stone down the shaft and found it fell into water; within seconds the shaft was full to the top. ^1,3
• The pit was twenty-one fathoms deep. (disputed) ^1,4
• The shaft was twenty fathoms deep. (disputed) ³
• Four forgotten shafts came to light afterwards; the underviewer found that the second seam, fourteen fathoms down, had been worked long before without record, and that the old water had burst through a pillar the shaft had passed through. ¹
• Wilkinson's body was found nearly a month later; the water was not fully mastered, and the other men recovered, for several months. ³

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…The pit had been dry and thought safe. Shortly after midnight the banksman heard a noise like thunder in the shaft; he threw a stone down and…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…old workings burst into the newly sunk Wheels Pit at Farnacres Colliery, in the Team valley near Gateshead, and filled the shaft, drowning…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…passed through a pillar of coal in the second seam, about fourteen fathoms down, which had been worked long before and of which no record…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, in the Team valley near Gateshead, and filled the shaft, drowning all five men below.”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “In sinking the Wheels Pit the shaft had passed through a pillar of coal in the…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining disasters in Great Britain, 1840–1849 — Coal Mining History Resource Centre
2. (primary) Farnacres Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Local Records; or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events, vol. 3 (T. Fordyce, 1867) — Internet Archive
4. (secondary) Farnacres Colliery Inrush - Farnacres - 1840 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026