Swanwick Colliery inundation, 1863

An inrush of water at Swanwick Colliery, near Alfreton, killed two miners on 30 October 1863.

Cause

An inundation of water into the workings.

What happened

On 30 October 1863 water broke into the workings of Swanwick Colliery and killed two miners, Charles Bramley, 32, and Samuel Calladine.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• A list of Swanwick Colliery's accidents gives Samuel Calladine's age as 24. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Charles Bramley, 32, and S. Calladine, 34, miners, were killed by an inundation of water at Swanwick Colliery on 30 October 1863. ¹
• Charles Bramley, 32, and Samuel Calladine, 34, were killed by an inrush of water at Swanwick on 30 October 1863. ²
• A list of Swanwick Colliery's accidents gives Samuel Calladine's age as 24. (disputed) ³

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: “An inrush of water at Swanwick Colliery, near Alfreton, killed two miners on 30 October 1863.”
• Inrush (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “An inrush of water at Swanwick Colliery, near Alfreton, killed two miners on…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Swanwick Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Derbyshire Coalfield fatalities (4) - Healey Hero — Healey Hero
3. (secondary) Swanwick Colliery (North Derbyshire) was closed after 102 years - Bob Bradley, Healey Hero — Healey Hero

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026