Parliament
From 1846 until 1852 a Whig Government was in power.
Prime Minister Lord John Russell (Whig) 1846-1852.
President of Board of Trade, Lord George Villiers Clarendon (Whig), 1846.
Production of Iron at Clay Cross
At Clay Cross, the Clay Cross Company began the production of iron and 2 blast furnaces were fed by coal from No1 pit and ironstone mines nearby. However a decision was made to sink further coal shafts in the immediate vicinity as more production was needed to satisfy demand for the furnaces. Began sinking No2 pit.
Grassmoor Company
The Grassmoor Colliery Co was founded by Alfred Barnes in 1846. Mr Barnes constructed a railway to connect to the Midland Railway main line.
Potato Famine In Ireland
Due to the potato famine in Ireland there were lots of roving groups of Irish navvies and miners willing to do any mining job from sinking to coal getting. There were some mines in Ireland producing various types of coal including Brown, Bituminous and Anthracite. Brown coal is immature coal that has not had great pressure and is still a woody texture.
Collieries Sunk or Opened in 1846
Flat hemp rope
- Langton (Coke and Co). It was part of the Pinxton mine. Nos 1 to 6 shafts being in Pinxton Village. The first winding engine was a beam engine. It had a double drum for a 7 inches (0.18m) x 1½ inches (0.038m) flat hemp rope (as shown) to raise 2 trams of coal about 10 cwts in weight. The No8 upcast was a furnace shaft and a 9 feet (2.74m) diameter steam-driven fan replaced the furnace some years later.
- Forty Horse pit (Butterley Co)
- Grassmoor (Barnes) sinking began
- Hermitage (Butterley Co) opened, 70 yards (64m) deep (Old Foundation to southwest)
- Pye Bridge (James Oakes and Co) sunk to Kilburn at 230 yards (210m) to work ironstone
- Ripley colliery was sunk (Butterley Co)
- Skegby sinking (Skegby Colliery Co)
- Newhall Field Colliery (Moses Cartwright) opened Newhall Field Colliery where 2 shafts were sunk to the Main coal at 232 yards (194m) deep.
Collieries Closed in 1846
- Butterley No3 (Butterley Co) Deep Hard
- Clarke’s (Robert Arkwright), Calow
- Handley Wood (Barrow) coal and ironstone (Nether Handley shafts)
- Marehay Old (Coursham and Co), Hard and Soft seams
- Pinxton Green pit (Coke and Co) sunk 1822-1823 was closed after approximately 35 years life (4)
Langley Mill
A plan of Langley Mill shows 2 pairs of coal shafts, unnamed (Butterley Co), either side of the railway bridge on Station Road in the centre of the village.
Change Of Ownership
At Birchwood colliery there was a change of ownership to Coupland and Goodwin. It was noted that one road to the southwest of the shaft was packed and scoured by Clarke and Co, a heading to the west was driven by Shooter and Co and a further roadway to the northwest of Victoria pit (Richard Barrow) was scoured out by Fearn and Co in an effort to revitalise the pit, however the mine was closed on 31 Aug 1849.
In 1846 John Chambers (d 1874) was referred to as Agent and coal master at Tibshelf and Robert Milward as corn miller and coal master.
‘Dog Belts’
‘Dog belts’ were still common in Derbyshire pits worn by boys on haulage work, to drag tubs or corves. This was a system that was employed in low roadways where it was impossible to stand upright. See the drawing of one shown earlier.
Fatal Accidents 1846
- Babbington, Turkey Field (T North, T Wakefield and Jas Morley), George Tissington (32) an engineer for the past eighteen months at North, Wakefield and Morley’s pits. He descended the engine pit to repair the bucket door which is near the bottom of the shaft but at about 15 feet (4.6m) above there was a scaffold that was normally under water and William Morris assisting undid the last two bolts on the bucket and the weight of water forced the bucket door off and he and the door fell down the shaft 25 Jun 1846. Tissington was not hurt by the fall but when he and the bucket were being drawn up the shaft because of the damp (Blackdamp) the shouts of ‘hold on’ meaning that the horse was to stop turning the gin was not heard by the hearkener and in consequence he was struck by some stays and he fell back down the shaft into the water. His body was not found for 3 hours having fallen into water approximately 14 feet (4m) deep. He left a widow and 4 children.
- Bagthorpe (Fenton and Leather), William Clarke, joiner for some years was working with another at the engine shaft repairing some stays that went across the mouth of the pit. At quarter to five after having finished their work they sat on a board across the stays that they had just repaired. One of the latter broke and fell from under their feet. They were then 80 or 90 yards (73m or 82m) above the bottom of the shaft and above 40 yards (37m) from the top. The witness did not fall more than 2 yards (1.5m) as he had grabbed hold of a rope but the deceased fell down the shaft striking several stays and falling into water about 7 or 8 yards (6.5m or 7.3m) deep to his death. The witness swung himself about until he could get his feet round the engine pipe and lowered himself to where there was a join. A rope was lowered to him and he was raised out the shaft. The deceased was found and brought out of the pit after two and a half hours, 1 Sep 1846.
- Clay Cross (Stephenson) (Derbyshire) In February 1846 there was an explosion which killed one man ? and injured 12 others.
- Cinder Hill (Thomas North), John Shelton a collier, was severely burned by an explosion of gas on 7 Jul 1846 and subsequently died of his injuries 21 Aug 1846.
- Cinder Hill (Thomas North), Jonathan Severn was accidently run over by gang waggons in the pit and killed,
1 Sep 1846.
- Eastwood Bye pit (Thomas North, T Wakefield and J Morley), Francis Kirk (23) the deceased was employed as a waggoner to bring coal to the pit bottom to be raised up the shaft. As he and 2 others along with the Superintendant James Walker were in the chains descending the pit between 5 and 6 o’clock in the morning they had to get off partway down at the hanging on level where the Soft coal (Deep Soft) is got. There was no light at that place that day but all four got off at the landing safely. They called to the men on the hill to let the rope down so that they could step out of the chains. The rope was then raised and a shout was heard. It would appear that Kirk had turned the opposite way to the hole where they were to go to work the Soft coal and in doing so had fallen 17 yards (15.5m) to the pit bottom. He was got out and found to be badly bruised with several ribs broken and with blood coming from his head and was taken home but died in his bed about an hour and a half later at 9am, Saturday 5 Jun 1846.
- Eastwood (T North, T Wakefield and Jas Morley) an unnamed boy (?) fell down a shaft on 8 Jun 1846, dying on
9 Jun 1846.
- Loscoe pit, on 11th Mar 1846 Francis Flint aged 23 died from the effects of wildfire in consequence of using candles instead of safety lamps which were provided.
- New Biggin, Duckmanton, in December another was killed and 2 others were burned in a further explosion.
Market For Coal Dropped Dramatically
Ibstock colliery (Leicestershire) was up for auction and EM Green purchased it.
During 1847 the market for coal dropped dramatically and prices were depressed. The Butterley Co had had to wait until now for a connection to a main railway line to their pits in the Erewash valley - the Midland Railway. The Pinxton Colliery Co was founded in the same year, and was previously owned by Coke and Co. Coke had 12 shares, Salmond 9 shares and Robinson 7 shares.
The Railway Boom Was Over
The railway boom was over causing many men to be out of work and many flocked to the local pits.
The founding members of George Stephenson and Co were joined by
S Morton Peto MP and William Jackson MP.
George Stephenson pictured. After 1848 the name was changed to the Clay Cross Co.
Was Morton colliery named after Morton Peto, although it was situated at Morton Village?
