Nunnery Colliery overwinding, 1867

Two sinkers, Thomas Jepson and Samuel Slack, were killed by an overwind at the Duke of Norfolk's Nunnery Colliery, Sheffield, on 25 March 1867.

Cause

Overwinding.

What happened

On 25 March 1867 two sinkers at Nunnery Colliery on the eastern edge of Sheffield, then the Duke of Norfolk's, were killed by overwinding: Thomas Jepson, aged 19, and Samuel Slack, aged 24.

Recorded claims

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

• On 25 March 1867 two sinkers, Thomas Jepson, 19, and Samuel Slack, 24, were killed by overwinding at Nunnery Colliery, Sheffield. ^1,2
• The colliery then belonged to the Duke of Norfolk. ¹
• The deaths were caused by overwinding. ^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: “…Slack, were killed by an overwind at the Duke of Norfolk's Nunnery Colliery, Sheffield, on 25 March 1867.”
• Overwind (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “Two sinkers, Thomas Jepson and Samuel Slack, were killed by an overwind at the Duke of Norfolk's Nunnery Colliery, Sheffield, on 25 March…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two sinkers, Thomas Jepson and Samuel Slack, were killed by an overwind at the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining victims, 1860s, S (Shield) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (primary) Nunnery Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026