Tawd Vale Colliery inundation, 1897

On the night of Tuesday 30 November 1897 the River Tawd broke through a fall into old crop workings at Tawd Vale Colliery, Skelmersdale, and poured down through the old Twelve Feet workings and the shafts. The only two men below, a fireman and a hooker-on, were drowned. The colliery was abandoned.

Cause

A fall into old crop workings let the River Tawd into the old Twelve Feet workings, from which it flowed down the shafts.

What happened

A fall occurred into some old crop workings near the outcrop, and the River Tawd, here a brook, found its way through its bed into them. The water ran through the old Twelve Feet workings and down the shafts. Only two men were below at the time, the fireman William Coll and the hooker-on James Forshaw. The signal to draw up had just been given when the water rushed down the shaft, and the cage came up empty.

The colliery, which had raised about a thousand tons a day from the Rushy Park and Arley, was abandoned, and the Tawd Vale Coal Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1899. It was reopened as Glenburn Colliery in 1904.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquiry was made by the inspector of mines.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The colliery was abandoned and the Tawd Vale Coal Company went into voluntary liquidation in 1899; John Griffiths and Son reopened it as Glenburn Colliery in 1904.

Recorded claims

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

• On 30 November 1897 the flooding of Tawd Vale Colliery drowned the two men below, William Coll and James Forshaw. ^1,2
• A fall into old crop workings let the River Tawd through its bed into the old Twelve Feet workings and down the shafts. ^3,1
• The colliery was abandoned and the company went into voluntary liquidation in 1899. ³
• The signal to draw up had just been given when the water rushed down the shaft, and the cage came up empty. ²

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…up had just been given when the water rushed down the shaft, and the cage came up empty. The colliery, which had raised about a thousand tons…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…old Twelve Feet workings and the shafts. The only two men below, a fireman and a hooker-on, were drowned. The colliery was abandoned.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “An inquiry was made by the inspector of mines.”
• Onsetter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…workings and the shafts. The only two men below, a fireman and a hooker-on, were drowned. The colliery was abandoned.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…and poured down through the old Twelve Feet workings and the shafts. The only two men below, a fireman and a hooker-on, were drowned.…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Disasters - Names: Tawd Vale, 30th November 1897 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) A flooded colliery: supposed loss of two lives (South Wales Daily News, 2 December 1897) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (secondary) Tawd Vale Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

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