# Huskar Pit > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Huskar_Pit > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Huskar_Pit.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huskar_Pit > Source revision: 1311454474 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England Memorial to the children who died as a result of the disaster **Huskar Pit** was a coal mine on the [South Yorkshire Coalfield](/source/South_Yorkshire_Coalfield), sunk to work the [Silkstone seam](/source/Silkstone_seam). It was located in Nabs Wood, outside the village of [Silkstone Common](/source/Silkstone_Common), in the then [West Riding of Yorkshire](/source/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire). It was connected to the [Barnsley Canal](/source/Barnsley_Canal) by the [Silkstone Waggonway](/source/Silkstone_Waggonway). Huskar was the scene of a notorious pit disaster on 4 July 1838. ## Huskar pit disaster In 1838 Huskar was connected to Moorend Colliery, and used for ventilation. It had a vertical shaft to the surface and a [drift shaft](/source/Adit) (known as a "dayhole") leading to Nabs Wood. On 4 July 1838 heavy rainfall struck the area, disabling the winding engine on the vertical shaft. The workers stranded at the pit bottom were instructed to remain there until they were able to be brought up to the surface, but a number of children decided to try and escape via the dayhole to Nabs Wood. A nearby stream had burst its banks in the rain and a torrent of water entered the shaft, drowning 26 children aged 7 to 17. Some were able to escape via a passage that led to Moorend and alert [colliers](/source/Colliery) on the surface. ## Legacy The children's bodies were brought up from the pit and buried together in the churchyard of All Saints' Church, Silkstone. A memorial was erected bearing the names and ages of those who died,[1] which today is the logo of the village's primary school. Nationwide, the disaster shocked public opinion, and the resulting inquiry led to the [1842 Mines Act](/source/Mines_and_Collieries_Act_1842) which sought to introduce some protection for child miners and meant that all girls and boys under the age of ten were prohibited from working underground.[2] In 1988, the community of Silkstone Parish built another memorial in Nabs Wood,[3] depicting two children at work underground. In 2008, to mark the disaster's 170th anniversary, the event and subsequent inquest were turned into a play [4] by Sylvia le Breton and performed by the local Grass Roots theatre group in Silkstone church. In 2010, a commemorative stained glass window crafted by local residents was installed in one of its chapels.[5] A book by Alan Gallop about the event's history, "Children of the Dark: Life and Death Underground in Victorian England" was published in 2003 and Peter Bond wrote and performed a song, "Act of God" about the tragedy; the song is included on the 1979 album "See Me Up, See Me Down" from Highway Records. The [Kate Rusby](/source/Kate_Rusby) song "Halt the Wagons", from her 2019 album *[Philosophers, Poets & Kings](/source/Philosophers%2C_Poets_%26_Kings)*, references the tragedy from the point of view of a grieving mother.[6] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [article](http://www.silkstonereflects.co.uk/page9.htm)at silkstone reflects.co.uk [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141017083048/http://www.silkstonereflects.co.uk/page9.htm) 17 October 2014 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Huskar Mining Disaster 1838 - Emails 1](http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/pits/Huskar/Huskar1.htm) Huskar Mining Disaster: D Holland, healeyhero.co.uk accessed 24 July 2023 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Dry stone walls for Huskar Pit Disaster, 1838](https://www.bbc.co.uk/southyorkshire/content/articles/2007/06/06/les_young_dry_stone_walls_feature.shtml) 5 August 2008, bbc.co.uk, accessed 24 July 2023 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Grass Roots webpage](http://www.grass-roots.org.uk/profit.php)*www.grass-roots.org.uk* [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160701035657/http://www.grass-roots.org.uk/profit.php) 1 July 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Barnsley mining disaster depicted in Silkstone window](https://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8704000/8704055.stm), 25 May 2010 bbc.co.uk, accessed 24 July 2023 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Kate Rusby: Philosophers, Poets & Kings – album review"](https://louderthanwar.com/kate-rusby-philosophers-poets-kings-album-review/). *Louder Than War*. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019. ## External links - [List of those who died](http://www.healeyhero.co.uk/rescue/pits/Huskar/Huskar1.htm) Healey, p1 - [Huskar Colliery Disaster](https://web.archive.org/web/20110828122958/http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/cms/document/1820_39.pdf) (pdf) cmhrc.co.uk p67-70 v t e Coal mining in Yorkshire Coal mines in North Yorkshire Selby complex2 (Gascoigne Wood, North Selby, Riccall, Stillingfleet, Whitemoor Wistow) Tan Hill Coal mines in South Yorkshire1 Aldwarke1 Askern Barnburgh Barrow Bentley Brodsworth Brookhouse Bullcroft1 Birley Cortonwood Dalton Dinnington Elsecar Fence Harry Crofts1 Hatfield Hickleton High Hazels Huskar Kilnhurst Kiveton Park Maltby Manvers Markham Main New Stubbin North Staveley Nunnery1 Orgreave Rossington Rother Vale Rotherham1 Roundwood1 Silverwood Smithies Thorne1 Thurcroft Tinsley Park Treeton Waleswood Warren House Warren Vale Wath Wharncliffe Woodmoor Yorkshire Main Coal mines in West Yorkshire Caphouse Flockton Frickley Garforth Collieries (Isabella Pit, Sisters Pit, Trench Pit) Kellingley Killingbeck Middleton Shuttle Eye Prince of Wales Upton Waterloo Main Wheldale Woolley Incidents Allerton Bywater Colliery Explosion Cadeby Main pit disaster Lofthouse Colliery disaster Lundhill Colliery explosion Oaks explosion Peckfield Colliery disaster Coalfields and seams Coal seams of the South Yorkshire Coalfield Ingleton Coalfield South Yorkshire Coalfield Industrial relations UK miners' strike (1969) UK miners' strike (1972) UK miners' strike (1984–85) Battle of Orgreave South Yorkshire Miners' Association West Yorkshire Miners' Association Yorkshire Miners' Association Other articles Geology of Yorkshire List of collieries in Yorkshire (1984–2015) Monckton Coke Works National Coal Mining Museum for England British MPs sponsored by mining unions Notes 1 Pre 1974, most coal mines in South Yorkshire were actually in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Those annotated with a number 1, were closed before 1974. 2 The Selby Coalfield straddled the border of North and West Yorkshire [53°31′47.0″N 1°33′28.1″W / 53.529722°N 1.557806°W / 53.529722; -1.557806](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Huskar_Pit¶ms=53_31_47.0_N_1_33_28.1_W_) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Huskar Pit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huskar_Pit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huskar_Pit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.