Sark's Hope Mine flooding, 1845

In 1845 the ceiling of the deepest gallery of Sark's Hope silver mine at Port Gorey, Little Sark, collapsed and the sea flooded the workings, drowning ten miners. The company was uninsured; mining ceased, the concern was wound up in 1847, and the debts cost the Le Pelley family the fief of Sark.

Cause

Collapse of the ceiling of the deepest gallery, which let the sea into workings that lay wholly below sea level.

What happened

The galleries at Port Gorey ran entirely below sea level, kept dry by steam pumps that the company could barely afford to fuel. In 1845 the roof of the deepest gallery gave way and seawater poured in, drowning ten of the miners. Island tradition adds that a ship carrying Sark silver was wrecked off Guernsey on the same day with the loss of its cargo. Nothing is recorded of a formal inquiry or inquest.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The company carried no insurance against the loss. Mining ceased and the concern was closed in 1847; the Seigneur, who had mortgaged the fief of Sark in 1844 to keep the mine going, could not meet the payments, and the seigneurie was sold in 1852.

Recorded claims

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

• In 1845 the ceiling of the mine's deepest gallery collapsed and seawater flooded in. ^1,2
• Ten miners were drowned in the 1845 flooding. ^2,3
• The company was uninsured against the collapse and was finally closed in 1847. ¹
• The mining debts led to the fief of Sark, mortgaged for £4,000 in 1844, being sold in 1852 for £6,000, ending the Le Pelley seigneurship. ^1,2
• Despite several attempts to revive the mine after the collapse, the workings were finally closed in 1847. ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Silver (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “In 1845 the ceiling of the deepest gallery of Sark's Hope silver mine at Port Gorey, Little Sark, collapsed and the sea flooded the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Pierre Carey le Pelley — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Silver Mines — Isle of Sark (Sark Tourism)
3. (secondary) Cornish Miners on Sark — Family Tree Forum
4. (secondary) Silver mining in Sark (from Silver in the Channel Islands, Cohen and du Quesne Bird) — Jerripedia / theislandwiki

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026