Southgate Colliery roof fall, 1897

On 5 March 1897 a large fall of roof at Southgate Colliery, Clowne, knocked out the timber where a sixteen-year-old horse driver and a dataller of fifty were repairing a roadway, and killed them both.

Cause

A large fall of roof in a roadway under repair, which knocked out the timber.

What happened

Herbert Grundy and Thomas Torr were repairing a roadway and getting it ready for timbering when a large fall of roof came down, knocking out the timber already set and killing them both.

Recorded claims

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

• On 5 March 1897 Herbert Grundy, 16, a horse driver, and Thomas Torr, 50, a dataller, were killed at the Shireoaks Colliery Company's Southgate Colliery, Clowne. ¹
• The two were repairing a roadway and preparing it for timber. ¹
• A large fall of roof knocked out the timber and killed them both. ¹
• The fall came while the two men were repairing a roadway and preparing for the timber. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “On 5 March 1897 a large fall of roof at Southgate Colliery, Clowne, knocked out the timber where a sixteen-year-old horse…”
• Dataller (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…knocked out the timber where a sixteen-year-old horse driver and a dataller of fifty were repairing a roadway, and killed them both.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 5 March 1897 a large fall of roof at Southgate Colliery, Clowne, knocked out the timber where a…”

Sources

1. (primary) Disasters - Names: Southgate, 5 March 1897 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Southgate Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026