Prestongrange Colliery roof fall, 1910

About noon on 6 October 1910 a heavy fall in the Summerlee company's Prestongrange Colliery, near Prestonpans, caught three Musselburgh miners driving a mine through a faulted stretch of the Jewel seam workings. All three were conscious and talking as the manager and a visiting Inspector of Mines led seven hours of rescue work; Thomas Gorman died in the Infirmary next morning and Campbell later.

Date	6 October 1910
Mine	Prestongrange Colliery
Region	East Lothian
Primary type	Collapse / Roof Fall
Associated types	Entrapment, Rescue
Fatalities	2 (2: Thomas Gorman (24), stone driver, who died early on 7 October, and Campbell (48), stone driver, who also died of his injuries; the newspaper names him Samuel and NMRS Thomas. Robert Macfarlane survived with a crushed hand and injured back.)
Context	During active mining

A tall engine house with a large iron beam projecting from its upper wall. — The Cornish beam pumping engine at Prestongrange, now the centre of the mining museum on the colliery site. Photograph by M J Richardson. M J Richardson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

Cause

The mine was being driven at one in five through a 30-foot upthrow fault, closely timbered, when a fall came away and swung out at least ten sets of timber.

What happened

A pit inspector behind the fall got out by another way. None of the three was completely buried, and all could talk to the rescuers. Macfarlane was brought to the bank at 2.30, Campbell, doubled up with his chest on his knees, after half past five, and Gorman, his legs pinned by a large lump of rock, at seven. A large crowd waited at the pithead through the afternoon.

Rescue & recovery

The manager, John Halliday, led the rescue with the help of John Masterton, HM Inspector of Mines, who happened to be at the colliery. Two doctors went down the pit; the injured were taken by ambulance to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, with a relay of horses provided at Musselburgh.

Recorded claims

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

On 6 October 1910 a fall at Prestongrange Colliery caught three men, who were extricated alive after hours of rescue work. ^1,2
Thomas Gorman and Campbell afterwards died of their injuries. ^2,3
The men were driving a mine rising one in five through a closely timbered 30-foot upthrow fault when the fall swung out at least ten sets of timber. ²
The newspaper placed the fall at the extremity of the Jewel seam workings. ¹

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: “…6 October 1910 a heavy fall in the Summerlee company's Prestongrange Colliery, near Prestonpans, caught three Musselburgh miners driving a mine…”
HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…All three were conscious and talking as the manager and a visiting Inspector of Mines led seven hours of rescue work; Thomas Gorman died in the Infirmary…”
Pithead (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…and all could talk to the rescuers. Macfarlane was brought to the bank at 2.30, Campbell, doubled up with his chest on his knees, after…”

Sources

(secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Lothians accidents 1901-1914 — Scottish Mining Website
(primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Prestongrange, 1910 (Campbell) — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Prestongrange, 1910 (Gorman) — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 13 October 2026