MineArchiveTilmanstone Colliery shaft accident, 1909
| Date | 1909 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Tilmanstone Colliery |
| Region | Kent |
| Type | Winding / Shaft Accident |
| Fatalities | 3 (Three men working on the No. 2 shaft sinking were killed; individual names have not been located in the sources checked.) |
| Context | During active mining (An accident during the sinking of No. 2 shaft, years before the colliery ever reached coal.) |
| Status | Researched |
Tilmanstone's No. 2 shaft was still being sunk in 1909 when a hoisting bucket, or hoppit, fell down it, killing three men and wrecking the pumping equipment that was keeping the workings dry. A thousand gallons of water a minute poured in, and sinking was abandoned for nine months.
Cause
A hoisting bucket (hoppit) fell down the shaft during sinking operations.
What happened
Tilmanstone's shafts were difficult from the start, driven through water-bearing ground years before any coal was found. In 1909, while No. 2 shaft was still being sunk, a hoppit — the bucket used to raise spoil and lower men and materials during sinking — fell down the shaft. Three men were killed, and the fall destroyed the pump pipes that were keeping the sinking dry. With the pumps gone, water poured into the pit at a thousand gallons a minute, and sinking was abandoned for nine months while the damage was made good.
Investigation & inquiry
No formal inquiry report has been located in this pass; the account rests on the colliery's documented history rather than a surviving inquest record.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- A hoisting bucket fell down No. 2 shaft during sinking in 1909, killing three men and destroying the pump pipes. 1
- The loss of pumping let water into the pit at a thousand gallons a minute, and shaft sinking was abandoned for nine months. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Coal (contextual relationship)
Automatically linked by scripts/link_terms.py: exact-phrase match in the record's own recorded text. - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Automatically linked by scripts/link_terms.py: exact-phrase match in the record's own recorded text.
Sources
- (secondary) Tilmanstone Colliery — Dover Museum — Dover Museum
- (primary) Tilmanstone Colliery — Subterranea Britannica — Subterranea Britannica
Record created: 24 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 August 2026