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Individual Details |
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Individual Details |
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Thomas Johnstone
| Age: | |
| Died: | 28th Jul 1837 |
| Accident: | 28th Jul 1837 |
| Born: | |
| Colliery: | Workington |
| Company: | Mr. Curwen |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | left a wife and family ; killed in the 1837 disaster (inundation) |
| Buried: | [not known] |
| Category: | |
On July 28, 1837, Workington Colliery, on the coast of Cumberland, was inundated by the sea, and the Isabella, Union, and Lady pits submerged. The workings had been carried to a distance of 1,500 yards under the sea, and rising rapidly towards it, until only 150 ft. of strata intervened. Up till ten months previous to the date of the accident, Mr. Matthias Dunn had the management of the colliery. After Mr. Dunn's departure, a considerable robbing or removal of the pillars under the sea was carried on; a proceeding, the danger of which was a matter of common talk about the town. Disaster was foretold by many. A number of the colliers left the work. A correspondence on the subject took place between those on the spot and Mr. Dunn, who, on account of the imminence of the danger, submitted the matter to a north of England coal-owner, and induced him to write to Mr. Curwen, the owner of Workington Colliery, drawing his attention to the risk that was being run. But no steps were taken, till eventually a crush ensued, and the sea burst in on the evening of the day above mentioned. Had the accident occurred during the day, the number of lives lost would have been greater. As it was, it is variously stated at from twenty-seven to forty human beings, and an almost equal number of horses (Dunn's Coal Trade, p. 102; Win. and Work., 2nd ed. 198; Child. Employ. Com., Append. i., pp., 300, 307, 878; 1849 Report, pp. 494, 609).
Pub.
Date | Article (Newspaper) |
|---|
| 01 Aug 1837 | Melancholy Loss of Life and Property (Cumberland Pacquet) |
| 04 Aug 1837 | Melancholy Loss of Life and Property, (From the Cumberland Packet.) (The Times) |
| 05 Aug 1837 | Dreadful Catastrophe at Workington (Whitehaven Herald) |
| 19 Sep 1837 | Meeting of the British Association at Liverpool (Cumberland Pacquet) |
| 27 Sep 1837 | The Late Coal Mine Accident at Workington, Subscription in Liverpool (Cumberland Pacquet) |
| 08 Sep 1927 | The Ill-Fated Bella Mine (Whitehaven News) |
- Great Pit Disasters, 1700 to present day by Helen and Baron Duckham, Published by David & Charles, 1973
- Northumberland & Cumberland Mining Disasters by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2009, ISBN 1-845630-81-5
- Annals of Coal Mining and the Coal Trade by Robert L. Galloway. Published in 1898.
- The Times Newspaper
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