Wednesbury Oak Colliery roof fall, 1900

A fall of roof at the working face in the New Mine coal at Wednesbury Oak Colliery, Tipton, on 10 November 1900 killed two pikemen and a loader.

Cause

A fall of roof at the working face in the New Mine coal.

What happened

On 10 November 1900 the roof fell at a working face in the New Mine coal at Wednesbury Oak Colliery, Tipton, worked by Philip Williams and Sons. Two pikemen, Thomas Bolden, 53, and Jonah Clark, 43, and a loader, Ernest Stokes, 24, were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 10 November 1900 a fall of roof killed three men at Wednesbury Oak Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
• The dead were Thomas Bolden, 53, and Jonah Clark, 43, pikemen, and Ernest Stokes, 24, loader. ^1,2,3,4
• The fall was at a working face in the New Mine coal. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by Philip Williams and Sons. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A fall of roof at the working face in the New Mine coal at Wednesbury Oak Colliery, Tipton, on 10 November 1900 killed two…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…of roof at the working face in the New Mine coal at Wednesbury Oak Colliery, Tipton, on 10 November 1900 killed two pikemen and a loader.”
• Filler (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Oak Colliery, Tipton, on 10 November 1900 killed two pikemen and a loader.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A fall of roof at the working face in the New Mine coal at Wednesbury Oak Colliery,…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Wednesbury Oak, 10 November 1900 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Thomas Bolden, Wednesbury Oak, 1900 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Jonah Clark, Wednesbury Oak, 1900 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Ernest Stokes, Wednesbury Oak, 1900 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Wednesbury Oak Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026