Hindley Green Colliery roof fall, 1877

On 12 December 1877 a fall of roof at Hindley Green Colliery, near Wigan, killed the collier William Duggan, 49, and William Duggan junior, 20, his drawer.

Cause

A fall of roof.

What happened

Hindley Green Colliery, near Wigan, belonged to John Scowcroft and Co. On 12 December 1877 a fall of roof came down on William Duggan, a collier of 49, and William Duggan junior, 20, the drawer who worked with him, killing them both.

Investigation & inquiry

The deaths are recorded as accident No. 59 in the 1877 report of Henry Hall, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Liverpool District.

Recorded claims

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

• On 12 December 1877 a fall of roof at John Scowcroft and Co.'s Hindley Green Colliery, Wigan, killed William Duggan (49), a collier, and his son William (20), a drawer. ^1,2,3
• The two dead were a father and son working together, the collier and his drawer. ^2,3
• The accident is No. 59 in the 1877 report of Henry Hall, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Liverpool District. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 12 December 1877 a fall of roof at Hindley Green Colliery, near Wigan, killed the collier William Duggan, 49, and William…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…recorded as accident No. 59 in the 1877 report of Henry Hall, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Liverpool District.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the collier William Duggan, 49, and William Duggan junior, 20, his drawer.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 12 December 1877 a fall of roof at Hindley Green Colliery, near Wigan, killed the collier William…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) William Duggan, Hindley Green, 12 December 1877 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) William Duggan jnr., Hindley Green, 12 December 1877 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Mining victims, 1870s, D (Duggan) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026