Hamstead Colliery roof fall, 1910

A bump in a Thick Coal working at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 14 September 1910 brought down roof coal five feet thick over an area 20 feet by 15, killing a loader and a pikeman instantly.

Cause

A bump in the Thick Coal followed by a heavy fall of roof coal that discharged six props.

What happened

On 14 September 1910 a bump occurred in a Thick Coal working at Hamstead Colliery and was immediately followed by a heavy fall of roof coal over an area 20 feet by 15 feet and 5 feet thick. Six props were knocked out, and John Adams, a 26-year-old loader, and William Nightingale, a 46-year-old pikeman, were killed instantly. Two months later another man was suffocated under a collapse of the roof over a whole opening of 7 yards by 6 while he was preparing to drop the top coal.

Recorded claims

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

• On 14 September 1910 a bump in a Thick Coal working at Hamstead Colliery was followed by a heavy fall of roof coal that killed two men instantly. ^1,2,3
• The dead were John Adams, aged 26, a loader, and William Nightingale, aged 46, a pikeman. ^1,2
• The fall covered an area 20 feet by 15 feet and was 5 feet thick; six props were discharged. ^2,3
• In November 1910 a stallman at Hamstead was suffocated when the roof over an opening 7 yards by 6 collapsed as he prepared to drop top coal. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “A bump in a Thick Coal working at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 14 September 1910…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A bump in a Thick Coal working at Hamstead Colliery, Great Barr, on 14 September 1910 brought down roof coal five feet…”
• Filler (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…down roof coal five feet thick over an area 20 feet by 15, killing a loader and a pikeman instantly.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A bump in the Thick Coal followed by a heavy fall of roof coal that discharged six props.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Hamstead Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Hamstead fall of roof, 14 September 1910 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Adams, Hamstead, 1910 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026