Ravenslodge Colliery flooding, 1892

At about ten on the night of 4 August 1892 nine segments of cast-iron tubbing gave way in the upcast shaft of Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury. Water filled both shaft bottoms within minutes and rose 200 yards, drowning six men of the night shift; the furnaceman alone escaped.

Cause

A flaw ran right across the boss of one cast tubbing segment, 220 yards above the Better Bed. The segment was sound on the outside, and the flaw could not be seen when it was put in or found when it was tested with hammer and chisel.

What happened

Ravenslodge worked the Black Bed at 268 yards; its upcast shaft went about 40 yards deeper to the Better Bed, and both shafts stood at the lowest part of the workings. On the night of 4 August six contractors had gone down at about nine to heighten the main road, while the furnaceman, William Lund, and Richard Swallow stayed at the ventilating furnace.

At about 10.10 p.m. Lund saw air and smoke coming down the upcast. Swallow said he must warn the men and set off along the main road; Lund reached the downcast, signalled and was drawn up, and soon afterwards a loud noise was heard in the shaft as the tubbing fell. The bottom bell went unanswered. Water rose to the top of the porches at each shaft bottom within minutes and went on rising for 200 yards.

Rescue & recovery

The manager, Doctor Ashton, went down about 30 yards but was driven back by foul air. Recovery was slow, laborious and dangerous: as the water was lowered the roof fell, all the debris had to be searched, and accumulated gas had to be cleared inch by inch. The first body was found on 12 October and the other five at the beginning of December.

Investigation & inquiry

The rest of the tubbing was found secure. The Home Secretary received a special report from Anthony Hawkins, barrister, and Frank N. Wardell, H.M. Inspector of Mines; Wardell noted that 200 men and boys would have been below had it happened by day. The inquest, held on 10 January 1893, found that the lives were lost through the giving way of a defective section of tubbing and that the deaths were purely accidental, with no blame attached to the owners or the workmen.

Recorded claims

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

• At about 10 p.m. on 4 August 1892 tubbing gave way in the upcast shaft of G. and J. Haigh's Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury, and six men working underground were drowned. ^1,2
• Nine segments of tubbing gave way, four in one ring, three in the next and two in the next, and the water rose 200 yards in the shafts. ¹
• A flaw ran across the boss of one cast segment; it was sound on the outside and had not been detected when the segment was tested with hammer and chisel on installation. ¹
• The inquest, delayed to 10 January 1893 by the difficulty of recovering the bodies, found the deaths purely accidental, with no blame on owners or workmen. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…Doctor Ashton, went down about 30 yards but was driven back by foul air. Recovery was slow, laborious and dangerous: as the water was…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…of 4 August 1892 nine segments of cast-iron tubbing gave way in the upcast shaft of Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury. Water filled both shaft bottoms…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…report from Anthony Hawkins, barrister, and Frank N. Wardell, H.M. Inspector of Mines; Wardell noted that 200 men and boys would have been below had it…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…upcast shaft of Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury. Water filled both shaft bottoms within minutes and rose 200 yards, drowning six men of the…”
• Tubbing (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “At about ten on the night of 4 August 1892 nine segments of cast-iron tubbing gave way in the upcast shaft of Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury.…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Ravenslodge Colliery Shaft Accident, Dewsbury, 1892 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery disaster, 4 August 1892: Ravenslodge (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

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