MineArchiveHeathfield Colliery, Wolverhampton
| Location | Near Wolverhampton, West Midlands |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | by 1848 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Salter and Raybould |
Overview
A colliery of Salter and Raybould near Wolverhampton where, on 9 February 1848, an explosion soon after the day shift went down killed sixteen men; the inquest jury blamed the doggy and returned a verdict of manslaughter against him.
History
Heathfield Colliery, near Wolverhampton in the South Staffordshire coalfield, belonged to Messrs Salter and Raybould in 1848. On the morning of 9 February that year seven men who had worked through the night were relieved at six o'clock by twenty-nine others, and soon after they had gone down the pit exploded. The shock was felt throughout the neighbourhood and flame shot from the shaft. Sixteen men died, several were injured, thirteen escaped and five horses were killed.
Accounts of the cause differed: one blamed a man who had fixed his candle under the coal, found buried beneath a great mass of it; another a sudden outburst of gas; another the negligence of the doggy, the underground charge-hand. The inquest, before the coroner G. Hinchcliffe at the Dartmouth Hotel, took the last view: it found that the men had lost their lives through the negligence of John Meek, the doggy, and returned a verdict of manslaughter against him, and Meek was bound over to the next Staffordshire assizes. The disaster was reported as far away as Newcastle and Westmorland.
Geology
South Staffordshire coal measures; the seam worked in 1848 is not named.
Workings
A shaft worked by day and night shifts with candles.
Closure
Unknown.
What remains
Unknown.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- In 1848 Heathfield Colliery belonged to Messrs Salter and Raybould. 1,2
- An explosion at Heathfield on 9 February 1848 killed sixteen men. 1,2
- Thirteen men escaped and five horses were killed. 1
- The inquest returned a verdict of manslaughter against John Meek, the doggy. 1
Sources
- (secondary) Heathfield Colliery Explosion, Wolverhampton, 1848 (NMRS accidents and disasters) — Northern Mine Research Society
- (primary) Colliery disaster, 9 February 1848: Heathfield (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026