The building of England

 here is a list of Mining disaters in a 20 mile radius of the town of Wigan in the county Lancashire in the mid 1800's. men and boys as young as 9 were killed in all these disasters mining coal. Many men were the only means of income and many women were widowed, there children orphand (No benefit system then. Pretty as our country is, it was built on hard graft, toil, blood of our ancestors, this is why we fight for what we have but are still willing to share with those less fortunate than us, thats what makes us British  at the bottom of this thread is a link to the records of just one of these disasters, that of The Wood Pit disaster of 1878 near haydock in Lancashire. Men and boys died making a living underground, over 100 women were widowed in that one day, with over 300 children left without a father and no other means of income. please, if you can find the time to read it, please do. Mike

 Heres a list of mining disasters before the mines were closed in the Wigan area



Wigan area mining disasters 1800’s
Mining Disasters in Wigan area-
1820-1979


CONTENTS 1820-39
PEMBERTON. Wigan, Lancashire. 24th. April, 1830
HAYDOCK. Haydock, Lancashire. May, 1831.
HAYDOCK. Haydock, Lancashire. September, 1832.
ST.HELENS. St.Helens, Lancashire. 1835.
UNNAMED. Wigan, Lancashire. 1835.
RUSHY PARK. St.Helens, Lancashire. June, 1838.

CONTENTS 1840-9
WINSTANLEY. Wigan, Lancashire. 20th. November, 1843
NEWTON, Haydock, Lancashire. 5th. November, 1845.
BURGH. Coppull, Lancashire. 24th. November, 1846.
 PARR. St.Helens, Lancashire. January, 1847.
WESTLEIGH. Leigh, Lancashire. 28th. January, 1847
GERARDS BRIDGE. St. Helens, Lancashire. 2nd. June, 1847.
KIRKLESS HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 28th. June, 1847.
INCE HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 30th. November, 1847.
KIRKLESS HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 28th. June, 1847.
INCE HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 30th. November, 1847.
ALBION. Hindley Green, Lancashire. 28th. August, 1848
SENELEY GREEN. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 24th. October, 1848.
VICTORIA. Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. February, 1849.
INCE HALL. Middle Patricroft Pit. Hindley, Lancashire. 6th. March, 1849.
LAFFACK. St. Helens, Lancashire. 23rd. June, 1849

CONTENTS 1850-4
CHOWBENT. Gib Field Pit. Atherton, Lancashire. 11th. February, 1850. FOGGS. Haydock, Lancashire. March, 1850.
HAYDOCK No.13. Haydock, Lancashire. 8th. November, 1850.
HEYS. Ashton-under- Lyne, Lancashire. 17th. March, 1851.
INCE HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 22nd. December, 1851
NORLEY, Wigan Lancashire, 24th. April, 1852.
COPPULL Coppull, Lancashire. 20th. May, 1852
INCE HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 24th. March, 1853.
INCE HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 18th. February, 1854.

CONTENTS 1855-59
HINDLEY. Wigan, Lancashire. 26th. April, 1857.
SANKEY BROOK. St.Helens, Lancashire. 11th. June, 1857.
THE HEYS. Ashton-under-Lyme, Cheshire. 31st. July, 1857
BARDSLEY. Ashton-under-Lyme, Cheshire. 2nd. February, 1858.
YEW TREE. Tyldesley, Lancashire. 11th. December, 1858.

CONTENTS 1860-62
WINSTANLEY. Wigan, Lancashire. 3rd. August, 1860.
LINNYSHAW. Worsley, Lancashire. 27th, February, 1861
SHEVINGTON. Wigan, Lancashire. 1st. November, 1861

CONTENTS 1863-66
BLACKEYHURST Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 1st. July, 1864.
DOUGLAS BANK. Wigan, Lancashire, 4th. January, 1865.
CALIFORNIA Aspull, Lancashire. 12th. September, 1865.
HIGH BROOKS. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 23rd. January, 1866. GARSWOOD PARK Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 4th. May, 1866.
DUKINFIELD. Ashton-under-Lyne, Cheshire. 14th. June, 1866
BANK. Little Hulton, Lancashire. 10th. December, 1866

CONTENTS 1867-69
MESNE LEA. Worsley, Lancashire. 30th. May, 1867.
DUKINFIELD. Ashton-under-Lyne, Cheshire. 4th June, 1867.
GARSWOOD PARK Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 20th. August, 1887.
HINDLEY GREEN. Wigan, Lancashire. 25th November,1868.
NORLEY. Wigan, Lancashire. 21st. December, 1868.
QUEEN PIT. Haydock, Lancashire, 30th. December, 1868.
RAINFORD Rainford, Lancashire. 16th. January, 1869.
HIGH BROOKS. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 1st. April, 1869.
QUEEN PIT. Haydock, Lancashire. 21st. July, 1869
LOW HALL. Wigan, Lancashire. 15th. November, 1869.

CONTENTS 1870-72
BRYN HALL. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 19th. August, 1870
INCE MOSS. Wigan, Lancashire. 6th. September, 1871.
HINDLEY GREEN. Springs Pit. Wigan, Lancashire. 15th. November, 1871
LOVERS LANE. Atherton, Lancashire. 28th. March, 1872

CONTENTS 1873-5
BRYN HALL. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 2nd. June. 1873.
MENSES. Barebones Pit. Wigan, Lancashire 21st. November, 1873.
INCE HALL. Saw Mill Pit. Wigan, Lancashire. 18th. July, 1874
ALEXANDRA. Wigan, Lancashire. 4th. December, 1875.

CONTENTS 1876-77
PEMBERTON. Wigan, Lancashire. 11th. October, 1877.

CONTENTS 1878-79
WHISTON. Whiston, Lancashire. 17th. February, 1878.(?)
WOOD PIT. Haydock, Lancashire. 7th. June, 1878

CONTENTS 1880-81
ABRAM. Wigan, Lancashire. 19th. December, 1881.

CONTENTS 1886-88
BEDFORD. Wood End Pits. Leigh, Lancashire. 13th. August, 1886.
DOUGLAS BANK. Wigan, Lancashire. 6th. April, 1888.
CONTENTS 1891-93
BAMFURLONG. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 14th. January, 1892.

CONTENTS 1896-97
WESTLEIGH. Leigh, Lancashire. 20th. February, 1896.

CONTENTS 1898-1901
OLD BOSTON. Haydock, Lancashire. 29th. June 1900.

CONTENTS 1902-05
GARSWOOD HALL. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 2nd. April, 1902.
BOLD. St.Helens, Lancashire. 20th? January, 1905.
NEW BOSTON. Haydock, Lancashire. 16th. July, 1905.

CONTENTS 1906-07
FOGGS. Tyldesley, Lancashire. 4th. October, 1907.

CONTENTS 1908-10
THE MAYPOLE. Abram, Lancashire. 18th. August, 1908.
HULTON No. 3. Pretoria Pit. Atherton, Lancashire. 21st. December, 1910.

CONTENTS 1930-31
LYME PIT. Haydock, Lancashire. 26th. February, 1930.

CONTENTS 1932-34
BICKERSHAW. Leigh, Lancashire. 10th. October, 1932.

CONTENTS 1939-1942
EDGE GREEN. Garswood Hall No.9 Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire. 12th. November, 1932.
ASTLEY GREEN, Tyldesley, Lancashire, 7th. June, 1939.

CONTENTS 1952-57
CHANTERS. Atherton, Lancashire. 6th. March, 1957.

CONTENTS 1958-62
BICKERSHAW. Leigh, Lancashire 10th. October, 1959.

CONTENTS 1965-79
GOLBORNE. Golborne, Lancashire. 18th. March, 1979.

http://www.old-merseytimes.co.uk/haydockexplosion1878.html

Yes, it does, Michael.  I, too, am from a coal family (Scranton, PA) anthracite capital of the US until the mines closed in 1955.  The only picture I've ever seen of my great grandfather (Lithuanian immigrant) was of him in his casket with the family all standing behind.  He was killed in a disaster in 1911 and he company just brought him to the house and laid him on the front porch for the family to bury. 

Here's a similar list to what you posted, Michael.  We just don't know how good we have it nowadays, do we?

http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/Fatals/HISTFAT.HTM

Interesting thread Michael and also it just shows from our members comments how many families were affected by these tragedies. I too come from a mining area (the Black Country) - alot of my ancestors were miners too. My Dad did his engineering apprenticeship at Baggeridge Colliery - I have got his mining medal from there.

Doing Cathy's family history for her beyond the Lancashire of her grand-parents, the scene quickly had led to Shropshire back to the latter 1700s, with 2 of her great-grandfathers working as Carters down the mines, with one of them being only about 30 and married but a few years before he was killed; possibly a mining accident?

The Durham Mining Museum is full of historical information about coal mining up north. http://www.dmm.org.uk/mindex.htm   The lady who originally owned my 1939 Austin had come from a Staffordshire mining family and her Dad had moved to the mines near Emley, West Yorkshire. Her father---listed on this site passing his mining exams-----had also been killed in a mining accident when he was the manager of several mines in 1908 trying to free a trapped cable.

So interesting but so sad. I had never realy been involved with anything mining exept when I was younger and drove through mining areas, seeing the then 'slag' heaps of mining waste, in my ignorance thought of them only as an eye-sore. When I got involved in tracing my ancestors I realised that they were involved as both landowners and also miners. In fact you can see my surname in the illistration of Wood Pit, number 170 was a Gerrard killed in the disater as was one of the minig experts involved in the inquirey team. A great expanse of the area around wigan was through times, originaly owned by gerrards and so was inevitable that some of my ancesters would have owend the mines also.

It appears that in the 1800s you either wove cloth, worked in mining or worked on the land (unless of course you went to sea). Even if you were wealthy landowners you probly were still involved in these lines of income.

I salute these brave people who built our nations through hard toil and graft, they died with the 'clogs' on!  

I deplore the ignorant people of today that only see them as low class rif-raf or unkept, penniless 'rag of muffins' as described in one London newspaper at the time.