Springwell Pit, Dawley

Overview

A Coalbrookdale Company pit on Holly Lane, Little Dawley, part of the Top Yard Colliery, where men rode the shaft hanging from a chain. In December 1872 the chain broke and eight young miners fell to their deaths; the pit worked on until about 1880.

History

Springwell Pit belonged to the Coalbrookdale Company and was part of its Top Yard Colliery on Holly Lane, Little Dawley; one account calls it an ironstone pit. As at most pits in the district, men were wound by the slow Shropshire method: a short length of chain carrying about eight loops, the 'doubles', was hung from the end of the triple-link winding chain, the men sat in pairs in the loops beneath a round wooden 'bonnet', and the suspended group was called a 'bond'.

In the week of the disaster the men had complained about the chain. On the Wednesday a broken link was found and riveted, though a spare chain bought earlier was never fitted. At half past four on 6 December 1872, as the first eight of the shift were drawn up, the chain broke at the pulley and they fell to the bottom; seven died where they fell and one soon after reaching the surface. The youngest, Isaiah Skelton, was fourteen and the oldest twenty-two. The inquest found the owners, the engineer William Heighway and the pit manager to blame, but no charges were brought. Some ten thousand people came to the funeral at Holy Trinity, Little Dawley, where the eight lie in a communal grave. Work resumed the next day, and the pit was worked until about 1880.

Geology

The Shropshire (Coalbrookdale) coalfield, worked for coal and ironstone.

Workings

A shaft wound by a triple-link chain from which the men hung in chain loops; part of the Top Yard Colliery.

Closure

Worked until about 1880.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Springwell Pit shaft accident, Dawley, 1872
  6 December 1872 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 8 fatalities
  At 4.30 p.m. on 6 December 1872, as the first men of the shift were drawn up the Springwell Pit of the Coalbrookdale Company at Dawley, the winding chain broke at the pulley and eight young men fell to the bottom. A broken link had been found and riveted two days before, but the chain was never properly examined.

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 men fell to the mine 150 yards below the surface. (disputed) ²
• Miners were hoisted 150 feet to the surface. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Springwell Pit was part of the Coalbrookdale Company's Top Yard Colliery in Holly Lane, Little Dawley. ^1,2
• Men were wound sitting in chain loops hung from the end of the triple-link winding chain. ^2,3
• On 6 December 1872 the chain broke and eight men were killed. ^1,2,4
• The men fell to the mine 150 yards below the surface. (disputed) ²
• Miners were hoisted 150 feet to the surface. (disputed) ⁴
• Work resumed the following day and the pit was worked until about 1880. ^2,3
• The Coalbrookdale Company's colliery at Dawley lost eight men aged sixteen to twenty-two on 6 December 1872, by the breaking of a three-link chain. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Dawley Colliery Shaft Accident - Wellington - 1872 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) The Springwell Pit Disaster by M. Peel — Dawley Heritage
3. (secondary) Springwell Pit Disaster — Dawley Heritage
4. (secondary) Springwell Pit disaster — Wikipedia
5. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Dawley, 6 December 1872 — Durham Mining Museum

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