Fig 1: Mapperley Colliery, Derbyshire, pictured in the early 1960s.  It was the location of the mysterious disappearance of Colliery Undermanager, Thomas Severn in 1918.  Photo Credit: David Amos collection.

Mapperley Colliery and the Mystery of the Missing Colliery Undermanager

Mapperley Colliery, near Ilkeston, Derbyshire, finished production just over sixty-years ago on 27th March 1965 after ninety-three years. It was one of the mass pit closures of the 1960’s which by September 1970 saw the end of deep coalmining in that part of Derbyshire. At nationalisation in 1947, there were 68 large collieries in Derbyshire, the last one, Markham, closed in July 1993.

Fig 2: Mapperley Colliery Company in the 1935 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory.

The colliery was sunk in 1872 by the Glendon Iron Company and was known locally as Simon Fields Pit, after fields to the west of Park Hall Farm, towards Smalley, after Simon Adherne, who owned a moated Manor House there in the 13th century. The area is the site of many old coal workings which predate the sinking of Mapperley Colliery.

Fig 3: Map showing proximity of other collieries to Mapperley in the NCB East Midlands No.5 Area in 1960. Source – Guide to the Coalfields

The Mapperley Colliery Company took over ownership of the colliery in 1884 and at nationalisation in 1947, it went into the NCB East Midlands No.5 Area. Geographically, it was bordered by collieries at West Hallam (c1931) Stanley /Hillside (c1961), Shipley Woodside (c1961/ Woodside Drift c1966), Shipley Coppice (c1966) and Cossall (c1966). In coalmining history it is always associated with the mysterious disappearance of Colliery Undermanager, Thomas Severn, in 1918. It was a local disappearance case likened to those of Sir John Franklin and the Mary Celeste.

Fig 4: Thomas Severn, missing Colliery Undermanager at Mapperley Colliery in 1918.

Thomas Severn had been an Undermanager at Mapperley Colliery since 1917, having gained a second class Certificate in Mining (A Managers Ticket) No. 3560. He previously worked as a Deputy at Clifton and Stanley collieries. Born into coalmining stock at Swanwick, near Alfreton, in April 1875, his father, Thomas Severn Snr was Colliery Manager at Old Swanwick Colliery, known locally as Lily Street pit.

Fig 6: Local press report and archive notes on the disappearance of Thomas Severn.

He disappeared on the day shift of 5th June 1918, one of the last people to see him being his son, Claud, who was 17 years of age at the time and worked as a dataller at the colliery. His father passed him and a group of workers when conducting an underground inspection. When he didn’t show up at the end of the shift, an underground search involving forty to fifty miners was conducted in an effort to try and find him. Local Mines Rescue Teams from the Mansfield and Ilkeston Mine Rescue Stations were called in to search areas of old workings filled with blackdamp. Even trained bloodhound dogs and a clairvoyant were brought in in an effort to locate him, all to no avail.

Fig 6: Local press report from October 1919 on the mysterious disappearance of Thomas Severn.

The local press reported the mysterious disappearance for several weeks afterwards and many rumours circulated in the local mining community around West Hallam about what could possibly have happened to him. Various explanations were put forward these being that he had committed suicide in some old workings; that he had been murdered underground and the body disposed of; and finally that he had disguised himself and fled the area.

Fig 7: Coal in the Blood: An East Midlands Coalmining Anthology, published by Trent Editions in 2021.

Shortly after the closure of Mapperley Colliery, the incident was recalled in a folk song, ‘The Ballard of Tom Severn’, written by Quintin Hood, which was performed at a charity concert at Ilkeston Town Hall in April 1966. In 1988 a poem about the mysterious disappearance was found. It featured in the 2021 publication, ‘Coal in the Blood: An East Midlands Coal Mining Anthology’, edited by Natalie Braber and the author and published by Trent Editions.

Fig 8: Former Derbyshire miner & coalmining historian, Ray Huthwaite, whose 1988 letter to the press brought renewed interest in the disappearance of Thomas Severn.

In June 1988, on its 70th anniversary, the incident dramatically came back into the limelight following a letter to the Ilkeston Advertiser by former Ilkeston coalminer and local historian, Ray Huthwaite. In the letter, he claimed that a former Mapperley deputy informed him in 1978 of an old story, stated on oath to a bible, of a collapsed dying miner confessing to him that he really knew what had happened to Thomas Severn. The miner, on his deathbed, said that he and some others were told by a Colliery Official one afternoon shift, to hurriedly seal off a roadway leading to some old abandoned underground workings which were thought to be leaking dangerous mine gases. In mining terms, this is referred to as putting a stopping on. Although no date is mentioned in the correspondence, it infers it was the afternoon shift of 5th June 1918, the date Thomas Severn disappeared.

The Ilkeston Advertiser took up the story and the police even reopened the files on the case of the seventy year old pit mystery. However, it was closed again in September 1988 on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to warrant any further police investigation.  The official HM Inspector of Mines report at the time dismissed the theory of accidental death and stated there could only be three possibilties from this case; suicide, murder, or a well planned disguise.

Fig 9: Cover of Hector Tyler’s 2007 book on the mysterious disappearance of Thomas Severn.

In 2007, former coalminer and local historian, Hector Tyler, took up the case of Thomas Severn’s disappearance. He compiled and collated all the relevant known information, and wrote the book, ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Severn: The Solution to a Derbyshire Mining Tragedy 1918’. With input for Ray Huthwaite, he did extensive research and added local coalmining practical knowledge to the case, including reviewing the 1921 mining plan (No. 12880) for Mapperley Colliery at the Coal Authority at Mansfield, now known as Mining Remediation Authority. This is an important factor when studying coal mining history as a reasonable understanding of the underground environment and working practices, both old and new, need to be known in order to try and reach a logical conclusion.

In the book, he ruled out the suicide, disguise and murder theories and concluded that Thomas Severn was probably accidently entombed in old workings, adding there was no way of knowing that he was in that part of the mine at the time. It was his conscientiousness and to some extent his over confidence that had foolishly led him into the old workings, never to return.

Fig 10: Former Senior Mining Surveyor and Coalmining Historian, Dr Robert Bradley, in 2024.

Former Senior Mining Surveyor and Coalmining Historian, Dr Robert Bradley, b 1936, recently looked at the case and suggested that the possibility that he entered an old gate to examine and check for gas seems the logical solution.

Two men had been sent to build a stopping on that day at the entrance to an old gate because there was some gas escaping into the road being used. It could have been firedamp, blackdamp or whitedamp from a gob fire. Whether on that day or days previously there was a low pressure in the area, meteorological records sketchily refer to some light rain for a time. This could denote a drop in pressure, in the Ilkeston area, and if so, could point to the reason when Thomas Severn in his capacity as Undermanager could have gone to examine the district because in periods of low pressure gas can escape from the goaf or gob which is the void behind where the coal had been extracted.

Fig 11: Mercurial barometers as used in by Colliery Officials in coal mining to determine if a pressure drop was to occur and thus allow the potential for mine gases to penetrate the underground workings.

At that time colliers were only allowed to load out large lumps of coal into tubs and any piece of coal less than say 4 inches and small coal and dust and stone was cast into the goaf or gobbing behind the coal face. The mixture of crushed small coal and a warm stagnant airflow with gas or CH4 is still escaping from the broken coal and could create a heating. Gate side packs were built to try to prevent it getting into the general body of the ventilation current and cause problems.

Fig 12: Miner loading large lump coal onto a mining tram circa early 20th century.

So Severn could have gone down the old roadway that would have had several other stall working gates leading from that road to old stall coal faces. He would have known of the dangers in entering old workings alone and should have taken someone with him in case of a problem. Of course he could have gone down the gate on the spur of the moment whilst passing by and not planned it beforehand.

At that time gate roads to stall working would have been made to the accepted minimum dimensions, sufficient to get a tub, maybe pulled by a pony and just sufficient height for a man to walk, even whilst crouched over. It is possible he had been overcome when disturbing a layer of blackdamp and fallen down into it or collapsed when walking into the whitedamp (carbon monoxide).  One loses consciousness very quickly in a small percentage of carbon dioxide or blackdamp or whitedamp and death comes quickly in a few minutes afterwards due to lack of oxygen in the air.

Fig 13: Testing for mine gases with a Flame Safety Lamp.

Blackdamp or carbonated oxygen gas exhaled by all humans and animals is heavier than air and lies near the floor of a roadway. It does tend to accumulate where the air is stagnant. Methane gas or carburettor hydrogen gas is found similarly but is lighter than air so is found in the roof of a roadway. So it is possible he was inspecting for methane gas with his lamp which could have shown a high percentage and he could have been near to the floor and when raising his lamp to test the percentage could have been overcome and dropped to the floor. No-one knew whether Severn had gone into the old abandoned gate or not, so at the time of putting on the stopping was not even known that he was missing.

Fig 14: Mines Rescue Team with breathing apparatus at Bentinck Colliery in the 1920’s. Photo Credit – Kirkby Heritage Centre

In previous written articles no mention was made to whether the stopping was taken down for the rescue teams to enter that old gate, or did they even think about it.? If they did they could have used rescue breathing apparatus and canaries in cages to test for a gaseous atmosphere. In the report on the disappearance of Thomas Severn there is no mention of such. So was the stopping breached and did anyone, including rescue men travel that gate?

Bloodhound dogs were taken into the pit later to try and track his whereabouts and they failed, but possibly a small amount of gas could have been escaping from that stopping or other places where gas was present.  A dog has a terrific sense of smell and can track someone the next day under certain circumstances, but a dogs’ sense of smell for tracking can be affected by it inhaling a small amount of methane gas which is odourless so would not show any reaction afterwards but would not be able to track a scent.

Fig 15: Map showing the area to the south of Mapperley Colliery in the early 20th century and below the restored area in 2024 following opencast coalmining. Source – Scottish library maps website.  

The geographical area around Mapperley Colliery was opencast coalmined in subsequent years with the land being restored and the mysterious disappearance of Thomas Severn remains unresolved.

Blog by David Amos with assistance from Dr Robert Bradley

Posted by Mining Heritage admin, 10th April 2025

References

Coal in the Blood: An East Midlands Coal Mining Anthology, edited by Natalie Braber and David Amos, 2021. 

Derbyshire Record Office website. ‘The Strange Disappearance of Thomas Severn, the Undermanager at Mapperley Colliery, Mining the Seams, Derbyshire Records Office, Danielle Burton. https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/2021/07/22/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-thomas-severn-the-undermanager-at-mapperley-colliery/

Healey Hero website, ‘A Comprehensive History of Mining in the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Coalfields in Chronological order’, by Robert Bradley. ‘Mapperley Colliery closed after 93 years’, http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/individual/Bob_Bradley/Bk-4/B4-1965-P1.html

Mapperley Village, Derbyshire website.‘The History of Mapperley Colliery’. http://www.mapperleyhistory.com/History_Pages/Mapperley_Coal_Co_History.html

Mapperley Village, Derbyshire website ‘The Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Severn’ http://www.mapperleyhistory.com/History_Pages/History-I.html#Tom

National Library of Scotland: Map Images https://maps.nls.uk/

1935 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory.

Practical Coal Mining for Miners, Vol. 1, 1951.

The Mysterious Disappearance of Thomas Severn: The Solution to a Derbyshire Mining Tragedy by Hector Tyler, 2007.