Springwell Pit shaft accident, Dawley, 1872

At 4.30 p.m. on 6 December 1872, as the first men of the shift were drawn up the Springwell Pit of the Coalbrookdale Company at Dawley, the winding chain broke at the pulley and eight young men fell to the bottom. A broken link had been found and riveted two days before, but the chain was never properly examined.

Cause

A worn three-link winding chain broke at the pulley; links had been broken before the accident.

Contributing factors

No systematic daily examination of the chain as the rules required; a broken link repaired with rivets and the chain put back in use.

What happened

The banksman, William Morris, saw the chain break at the pulley over the pit head and fly back to the engine. On the Wednesday before he had found a broken link, stopped the engine and marked it; a carpenter put in three rivet links and the men were wound, and the chartermaster thought the banksman had then examined the whole chain by drawing it up slowly. After the accident three broken links were found, two rusted at the fracture and one partly broken through beforehand.

The engineer, William Heighway, twenty-one years at the colliery, said he sometimes looked at the chain, but he had not examined it all and could not read the rules. The dead were aged sixteen to twenty-two. The chartermaster and others spliced on another chain to go down for them.

Rescue & recovery

The chartermaster William Wyle and the engineer spliced on another chain to go down and recover the men.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest at the Crown Inn, Little Dawley, the inspector, Thomas Wynne, established that the chain had not been systematically examined and that the rules had not been observed; the Amalgamated Miners' Association was represented.

Recorded claims

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

• Eight men were killed when the three-link chain broke on 6 December 1872. ^1,2
• A broken link had been found and riveted on the Wednesday before, and after the accident links were found rusted at the fracture. ¹
• The inspector established that the chain had not been systematically examined as the rules required. ¹
• The colliery belonged to the Coalbrookdale Company. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “The banksman, William Morris, saw the chain break at the pulley over the pit head…”
• Buttyman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…a carpenter put in three rivet links and the men were wound, and the chartermaster thought the banksman had then examined the whole chain by drawing it…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…beforehand. The engineer, William Heighway, twenty-one years at the colliery, said he sometimes looked at the chain, but he had not examined it…”
• Pithead (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…banksman, William Morris, saw the chain break at the pulley over the pit head and fly back to the engine. On the Wednesday before he had found a…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Dawley Colliery Shaft Accident - Wellington - 1872 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Dawley, 6 December 1872 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026