Old Bradley Colliery inrush, 1862

On 30 May 1862 water lying in the flooded Thick Coal workings of G. B. Thorneycroft and Company's Old Bradley Colliery at Bilston burst into a draining level driven just beneath them and swept seven men and boys into the shaft. The manager was found to have neglected the boreholes that would have given warning.

Cause

Water stood five to six feet deep in the old Thick Coal gate-roads, which lay within about four feet of the roof at the end of the new level. A few inches of roof had been brought down by blasting that evening, and the water broke through an opening it made in the roof. No boring rods had been used ahead of the level.

Contributing factors

The manager, John Harvey senior, believed the level was still 15 or 16 yards from the water, though his son had latched the workings onto the plan the day before. He told the doggy not to drive the level further but to brick it and use the boring rods; the butty did not hear the order, the chartermaster knew nothing of it, and the doggy did not act on it at once.

What happened

The Ten Yard or Thick Coal at Old Bradley had been worked through No. 23 shaft until a few months before the accident, when water stopped the work and the pumps could not clear it. To drain it, a level was driven from No. 7 shaft in the Gubbin Ironstone measure, which lay below the Thick Coal, intended to cut into the flooded headways. By the end of May it ran 103 yards, rising at about 1 in 19, to within three or four feet of the bottom of the coal.

On 30 May a loud rush of water was heard at the surface. The water broke into the end of the level, swept away the scaffold at its entrance and carried those in it into the shaft, driving gas before it. Seven died, among them the deputy, Thomas Dunning, and his twelve-year-old son Isaac.

Rescue & recovery

The inspector, Mr Baker, heard of the accident at 5 p.m. and reached the colliery at 7, where two large pumping engines were at work and two bodies had been recovered from the engine pit. Water from the upper workings was pouring into the sump. At No. 7 shaft the walling had been almost destroyed by the water, and relays of men rebuilt it through a night of heavy rain so that the band chains could be lengthened and the bottom reached. All the bodies were out by the Sunday, the last found in the sump of the engine pit. Captain Thornycroft stayed at the pit head throughout and went down with the inspector.

Investigation & inquiry

Baker found the cause plain once the level could be examined: gate-roads in the Thick Coal lay just above its end, and the water had burst through the roof. The consulting engineer, Mr Smallman, had warned Harvey to be very cautious about five weeks before. The coroner's jury found that the deaths were caused by a rush of water occasioned by the neglect of John Harvey senior, but did not consider the evidence sufficient to incriminate him. Harvey was dismissed as manager a few days later and kept on in another capacity.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Baker prosecuted Harvey for a breach of the 15th General Rule, which required boreholes to be kept in advance of any working place likely to contain dangerous water. The case was heard before the stipendiary magistrate William Partridge on 24 September 1862 and dismissed for want of evidence that a dangerous accumulation of water was reasonably to be suspected, though the magistrate said boring rods ought always to be used in such cases and would have prevented the accident.

Recorded claims

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

• On 30 May 1862 water from the flooded Thick Coal workings at G. B. Thorneycroft and Company's Old Bradley Colliery, Bilston, burst into a draining level and seven men and boys died. ^1,2
• The water had lain in Thick Coal gate-roads within four feet of the roof of the level and broke through an opening it made in the roof, sweeping all in the level into the shaft. ¹
• The inquest jury found the deaths caused by a rush of water occasioned by the neglect of the manager, John Harvey senior, but did not consider the evidence sufficient to incriminate him. ¹
• Harvey was prosecuted for failing to keep boreholes in advance under the 15th General Rule; the stipendiary magistrate dismissed the case in September 1862 but said boring rods ought always to be used. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Borehole (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…and boys into the shaft. The manager was found to have neglected the boreholes that would have given warning.”
• Buttyman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…drive the level further but to brick it and use the boring rods; the butty did not hear the order, the chartermaster knew nothing of it, and…”
• Captain (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…out by the Sunday, the last found in the sump of the engine pit. Captain Thornycroft stayed at the pit head throughout and went down with the…”
• Gate Road (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “Water stood five to six feet deep in the old Thick Coal gate-roads, which lay within about four feet of the roof at the end of the new…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the rescue and recovery: “…the engine pit. Water from the upper workings was pouring into the sump. At No. 7 shaft the walling had been almost destroyed by the water,…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Old Bradley Colliery Inrush, Bilston, 1862 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery disaster, 30 May 1862: Old Bradley (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026