	Thorne Colliery	Index	Thorne Colliery

Thorne Colliery

Location:	Thorne, nr. Doncaster 11½ miles [18 km] NE of Doncaster
Map Ref:	(Sheet 112 Scunthorpe and Gainsborough) SE705157
Opened:	1925
Closed:	1956
Sinking Started:	1912-1925
Owners:	1920's - Pease & Partners Ltd.
	1947 - National Coal Board (N.C.B.)
Output:	1947 - Coal: Coking, Gas, Household, Manufacturing. (690,000 tons)
	1954 - Coal: Gas, Household, Manufacturing.
Employment:	1923 - 252 (117 below, 135 surface) [Sinking]
	1933 - 3,464 (3,006 below, 458 surface)
	1940 - 2,294 (1,795 below, 499 surface)
	1947 - 2,470 (1,970 below, 500 surface)
	1954 - 2,786 (2,320 below, 466 surface)
Seams Worked:	1940 - High Hazel
	1954 - High Hazel

Description

Thorne, Moorends. Sinking began in 1909 but not completed until 1926 when the shaft reached the Barnsley at 924 yards. The decision was made to work the High Hazel at 862 yards and this seam only was worked until 1956 when the colliery was closed for shaft repairs and reconstruction. Shaft repairs were completed in December 1965. The coal preparation plant which formed part of the reconstruction scheme is in operation dealing with imported coal from other collieries in the area.

NCB Leaflet: Coal in Doncaster Area, published August 1967

Disasters (5 or more killed)

	15th	Mar	1926		Shaft accident, breakage of capstan engine caused scaffolding to sink, 6 lives lost (Show Names)
	15th	Mar	1926		Shaft accident, breakage of capstan engine caused scaffolding to sink, 6 lives lost (Show Names)

Names of those killed at this colliery

Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!

						Audas, William, 16 May 1911, aged 27, Pump Chargeman, He was trying to put a cooling pipe to a hot pump bearing. For this purpose he was standing on a ladder attached to a suspended pump, when he slipped and fell to the shaft bottom — a distance of 18 feet
						Barley, John William, 15 Mar 1926, aged 51, Sinker [More information ...]
						Clark, Ernest, 15 Mar 1926, aged 26, Sinker [More information ...]
						Hansbury, John, 15 Mar 1926, aged 34, Chargeman Sinker [More information ...]
						Kelly, Lawrence, 20 Aug 1935, (accident: 19 Aug 1935), aged 14, Haulage hand, At outbye end of haulage road where tubs gravitated with lockers down 1 in 40 he was walking in tub road following a set of tubs when he was overtaken by a set of 5 which had been allowed to follow him. Died from injuries following day
						Knowles, Alfred, 18 Mar 1910, aged 37, Sinker, He went down the shaft a few minutes after a round of shots had been fired, and died from poisoning by carbon monoxide and nitrous fumes. Other men were affected by the gas
						Oldroyd, David, 14 Dec 1929, cage accident [date of report]
						Reed, John A., 15 Mar 1926, aged 21, Sinker [More information ...]
						Spragg, Richard, 23 Feb 1912, aged 35, Blacksmith, He was helping to move a number of empty tip wagons, when he was crushed between the buffers of a locomotive and a wagon
						Thorley, Edmund, 15 Mar 1926, aged 33, Chargeman Sinker [More information ...]
						Walton, Charles H., 15 Mar 1926, aged 33, Sinker [More information ...]
						Wood, Charles Rupert, 12 May 1933, (accident: 02 May 1933), aged 34, Collier, He was cleaning floor at face at beginning of his shift when there was a weight bump and piece of coal burst off face and pinned him against prop. Died 10 days later
						Woodhouse, George, 13 Dec 1910, aged 27, Sinker, The clamp of a rope holding a suspended pump in a sinking pit slipped, and the pump and its attachments fell to the bottom of the shaft. The deceased was forced under the water and drowned. Seven other men were slightly injured

						13 names found

If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.

Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

Some of the names of mining fatalities on this page have been kindly provided by Ian Winstanley of the Coal Mining History Resource Centre (CMHRC) and are marked with . The CMHRC is available here.

more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Thorne Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Thorne Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1910 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5676), Yorkshire and North Midland District (No. 4) by W. H. Pickering, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1911 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6237), Yorkshire and North Midland District (No. 4) by W. H. Pickering, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1912 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 6983), Yorkshire and North Midland District (No. 4) by Thomas H. Mottram, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1923 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1933 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1940 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1947 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1954 Guide to the Coalfields published by the Colliery Guardian
Contributions by members of the Public