Bromley Colliery

Overview

A Somerset coalfield colliery at Stanton Wick, worked from the 1890s to 1957 alongside its sister pit Pensford, marketing a named speciality coal and struck by a fatal cage fall in 1913 that drowned three miners.

History

Bromley Colliery worked coal at Stanton Wick in the parish of Stanton Drew, part of the Somerset coalfield, and was already working by the mid-1890s under L. & N. Gibbs. Ownership passed to the Bromley Coal Co. Ltd by 1900, and then, from 1910, to Pensford and Bromley Collieries Ltd -- the company formed to jointly develop Bromley alongside the new, deeper Pensford Colliery sunk that same year -- and its successor, Pensford and Bromley Collieries (1921) Ltd, from 1921. Bromley's own coal was marketed as a named speciality, 'Bromley Smiths' Coal', suited to forge work. On 7 November 1913, the worst single disaster in the shared history of Bromley and Pensford occurred when a cotter pin in the winding gear's reversing mechanism worked itself loose, sending the cage crashing 60 yards down the shaft; the three men aboard -- John Crick, 35, of Farmborough, Herbert Hillier, 20, of Clutton, and Samuel Urch, 36, of Pensford -- survived the fall itself but drowned in standing water at the shaft bottom before they could be reached. By 1910 the pit employed 122 men underground and 17 on the surface, rising to 172 and 33 respectively by 1923, worked under manager M. Watson and later Joseph Smith. The colliery closed in 1957, alongside Pensford, as the North Somerset coalfield contracted in its final years.

Workings

Worked coal marketed as the named speciality 'Bromley Smiths' Coal', suited to forge work.

Closure

Closed in 1957, alongside its sister pit Pensford.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Bromley Colliery Drowning Disaster (1913)
  7 November 1913 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 3 fatalities
  A cotter pin worked loose in the winding gear, sending a cage 60 yards down the shaft; all three men aboard survived the fall itself but drowned in standing water before rescue.

Recorded claims

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

• Bromley was owned by L. & N. Gibbs by the mid-1890s, the Bromley Coal Co. Ltd from 1900, and from 1910 by Pensford and Bromley Collieries Ltd -- formed to jointly develop Bromley alongside the newly sunk Pensford Colliery -- succeeded by Pensford and Bromley Collieries (1921) Ltd from 1921; Bromley's coal was marketed under the named speciality 'Bromley Smiths' Coal'. ¹
• On 7 November 1913, a cotter pin in the winding gear's reversing mechanism worked loose, sending the cage 60 yards down the shaft; the three occupants -- John Crick (35), Herbert Hillier (20) and Samuel Urch (36) -- survived the fall but drowned in standing water at the shaft bottom before rescue, the worst single disaster in Bromley and Pensford's shared history. ²
• The pit employed 122 men underground and 17 on the surface by 1910, rising to 172 and 33 respectively by 1923, under managers M. Watson and later Joseph Smith. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Bromley Colliery (Durham Mining Museum, via Pensford and Bromley Collieries (1921) Ltd company page) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Series of accidents took a grim toll on miners across North Somerset Coalfield — Midsomer Norton & Radstock Journal

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026