Rounds Green New Pit

Overview

A Black Country pit in Newberry Lane, Rounds Green, Oldbury, worked with naked lights, where an explosion in November 1846 killed nineteen, the worst toll of any Oldbury colliery. It worked on until February 1919.

History

Rounds Green New Pit, or Rounds Green New Colliery, stood in Newberry Lane at Rounds Green, on the Oldbury coalfield. The Northern Mine Research Society's account calls it the property of Mr North of Wednesbury; the Durham Mining Museum's return gives the company as Messrs Parker.

On a Tuesday morning in November 1846, shortly after twenty-five men had gone down, part of the pit was found to be full of firedamp. The mine was worked with naked lights, and the gas exploded. Men still being lowered in the shaft were thrown thirty feet into the air as the flame came up, and two fell to the bottom; Mr North himself went down and found them there. Nineteen died, among them the butty, Job Holland, and boys of ten and fifteen. The inquest at the Talbot Arms, Oldbury, returned accidental death, blaming the imperfect ventilation, and the explosion was made the subject of a special government inquiry. It was the worst disaster in any Oldbury colliery; it raised questions in Parliament and inspired Samuel Cooke's poster 'How Many More'.

The pit closed in February 1919.

Geology

The South Staffordshire Coal Measures of the Oldbury coalfield.

Workings

A winding shaft through which men were lowered; workings ventilated imperfectly and lit with naked lights in 1846.

Closure

Closed in February 1919.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Rounds Green New Pit explosion, 1846
  17 November 1846 · Explosion · 19 fatalities
  On the morning of Tuesday 17 November 1846, shortly after twenty-five men had gone down, firedamp exploded at the naked lights in the Rounds Green New Pit at Oldbury, killing nineteen. Men still being lowered were blown up the shaft and two fell to their deaths.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The company working the pit in 1846 was Messrs Parker. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• The pit was in Newberry Lane and was the property of Mr North of Wednesbury. ¹
• The company working the pit in 1846 was Messrs Parker. (disputed) ²
• In November 1846 an explosion of firedamp in the pit, worked with naked lights, killed nineteen. ^1,2,3
• The disaster, the worst in any Oldbury colliery, raised questions in Parliament and prompted Samuel Cooke's poster 'How Many More'. ³
• Rounds Green New colliery closed in February 1919. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Rounds Green New Pit Explosion - Oldbury - 1846 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Rounds Green, 17 November 1846 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Mining on the Oldbury Coalfield, by Chris Cooper — History of Oldbury

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026