Tawd Vale Colliery sinking inrush, 1861

On 6 March 1861 a new shaft being sunk at Tawd Vale, in Skelmersdale, broke into old, long-abandoned workings full of water, and two sinkers, Robert Gill and Thomas Wilding, were killed. The inspector noted that the signs of water in the old works had been plain to see.

Cause

An eruption of water from old, flooded workings into the shaft being sunk.

Contributing factors

Sinking upon old works of unknown extent despite visible signs that they were full of water.

What happened

A new pit was being sunk at Tawd Vale, a remote spot in Skelmersdale, upon some old and long-abandoned workings. Their extent on the deep side was unknown, but they had been proved for some distance by a borehole, and might naturally have been supposed full of water: a stream could be seen flowing into them constantly from a down brow at the surface, and their overflow could have been found escaping through the subsoil at a lower level.

The sinking went ahead, and the water erupted into the shaft, killing the sinkers Robert Gill and Thomas Wilding. Peter Higson, the inspector, counted it one of two unusual accidents among the year's miscellaneous casualties in his district, and recorded that the casualty had happened some days before he was told any works existed in that remote place.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector Peter Higson reported the accident in his 1861 report, noting that he had learned of the old works only some days afterwards.

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 March 1861 an eruption of water into a new shaft being sunk at Tawd Vale, Skelmersdale, killed two sinkers, Robert Gill and Thomas Wilding. ^1,2,3
• The shaft was sunk upon old, long-abandoned workings whose extent on the deep side was unknown and which might have been supposed to be full of water. ²
• A stream could be seen flowing into the old works from a down brow at the surface, and their overflow could have been found escaping through the subsoil lower down. ²
• The inspector, Peter Higson, was not told that any works existed there until some days after the accident. ²

Related terminology

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

• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…could have been found escaping through the subsoil at a lower level. The sinking went ahead, and the water erupted into the shaft,…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 6 March 1861 a new shaft being sunk at Tawd Vale, in Skelmersdale, broke into old,…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…broke into old, long-abandoned workings full of water, and two sinkers, Robert Gill and Thomas Wilding, were killed. The inspector noted…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Tawd Vale Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Colliery Accident: Tawd Vale, 6 March 1861 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1860s G: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026