Huskar Colliery

According to the Penistone History Archive, in Silkstone, South Yorkshire, Huskar Colliery was a coal mine where disaster struck and twenty-six children drowned when a stream overflowed into the mine's ventilation shaft after a thunderstorm. This event inspired the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842. 

Huskar Pit Disaster

Photo and Location: Huskar Pit Disaster - The Penistone Archive

Parent Map

British Literature and Human Rights Kennedy Williams

Coordinates

Latitude: 53.544120900000
Longitude: -1.564265800000

Timeline of Events Associated with Huskar Colliery

Date Event Manage
1842

The Mines and Collieries Act

Accodring to Engole, the Mines and Collieries Act of 1842 was passed in response to the working conditions experienced by children. It prohibited all females and boys under ten years of age from working underground in coal mines. This followed many deadly explosions that has occured while children were working in the mines, and as more and more individuals began working in the mines. This act was a major victory for human rights, as it acknowledged the state's resposnsibility to protect children from exploitation. 

Photo: Victorian Mining

Event: Mines and Collieries Act 1842

 Victorian Mining