Magpie Mine suffocation of three Maypitt miners

Three miners from the neighbouring Maypitt mine suffocated after Magpie miners lit fires underground to smoke them out during a dispute over a shared lead vein — the origin of the mine's 'Widow's Curse' story.

Cause

Magpie and the neighbouring Maypitt mine were both working the Great Redsoil vein, and miners from each side had taken to lighting fires underground to smoke the other side out of disputed workings.

What happened

In 1833, during a long-running dispute between Magpie Mine and the adjoining Maypitt mine over rights to the Great Redsoil vein, Magpie miners lit fires of burning straw and coal tar underground to smoke their rivals out. Three Maypitt miners were suffocated by the fumes. Twenty-four Magpie miners were subsequently tried for murder; all were acquitted, since it proved impossible to establish which of them was responsible for lighting the fire, and Maypitt's own men had also taken provocative action during the dispute. Local tradition holds that the dead men's widows cursed the mine; the affair is said to have ruined it, and it closed for a period in 1835.

Investigation & inquiry

Twenty-four Magpie miners stood trial for murder. All were acquitted, the court finding it impossible to establish individual responsibility for lighting the fire, or that those charged had intended to kill rather than merely to drive their rivals off.

Recorded claims

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

• Three miners from the Maypitt mine suffocated after Magpie miners lit fires underground during the dispute over the Great Redsoil vein. ^1,2
• Twenty-four Magpie miners were tried for murder and all were acquitted, as it could not be established which of them was responsible. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (direct cause)
  Fires deliberately lit underground during a dispute over the Great Redsoil vein produced toxic smoke that suffocated three miners from the neighbouring Maypitt mine — the same post-fire gas hazard afterdamp describes, from an arson fire rather than an explosion.
• Bad Air (hazard involved)
  The three men died from suffocation in an atmosphere made irrespirable by deliberately lit smoke, the same underlying hazard as bad air more generally.
• Barmote Court (contextual relationship)
  The fatal 1833 dispute arose from unresolved rival claims to the Great Redsoil vein — the class of dispute barmote courts were set up to adjudicate.
• Meer (contributing factor)
  The underlying dispute between Magpie and Maypitt was over meer boundaries on the shared Great Redsoil vein.
• Vein (contextual relationship)
  The whole quarrel was over a vein: Magpie and Maypitt were working the same lead vein, and the fires lit to drive the other side off it suffocated three men.

Sources

1. (secondary) Magpie Mine History — Peak District Mines Historical Society
2. (secondary) Magpie Mine — Wikipedia
3. (primary) Magpie Mine plans (BGS catalogue) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026