Forest of Dean Local History Society
This downloadable record set forms part of the Miners Memorial Project. The Project was led by Ron Beard, and was based on the extensive researches of Society member Dave Tuffley. The purpose of this part of the overall project was to identify and document records of fatal accidents which occurred in Forest of Dean Mines in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It also includes records of Free Miners and Free Quarrymen who registered prior to 1960.
The records are presented in tables in which the information can be viewed in alphabetical or chronological order. The information on accidents can also be viewed according to the mines or quarries where the accident took place. The mines and quarries records contain photographs and a brief historical account, in addition to accident details.
The records can be downloaded from the links in the text below in PDF format, or the entire record set can be downloaded as a zip file (see 'Files' below) in either PDF or WORD format
Further information about other Forest of Dean coal mines can be found at Ian Pope's 'Forest of Dean Coal Mining Pages'.
Fatalities
There are almost six hundred fatalities, dating from as early as 1797. The records contain (where available) the name, age and occupation of the victim, the date that the accident occurred, the mine or quarry involved and the cause of the accident. The records are presented in five ways:
- By date : Miners memorial - fatalities by date
- By name: Miners memorial - fatalities by name
- By coal mine: Miners memorial - fatalities by coal mine
- By iron mine: Miners memorial - fatalities by iron mine
- By quarry: Miners memorial - fatalities by quarry
Free Miners
“A free miner is a person born within the hundred of St Briavels and abiding there and having worked a year and a day at coal or mine work”.
The original registers of Free Miners and Free Quarrymen are kept in the office of the Deputy Gaveller. The Data Protection Act means that only applications from 1838 – 1959 are included in this record set. The original free miners’ applications are held at the Gloucestershire Record Office. The information given on these applications comprises name, birthplace and year of birth, address, mine where worked; later applications include certificates of employment. The records within this record set are presented in two ways:
- By date: Miners memorial - free miners by date
- By name: Miners memorial - free miners by name
Free Quarrymen
The Free Quarrymen number just over three hundred. The register is similar to that for the Free Miners and the records include the name, age and place of residence of the quarryman, the date of registration and an ID number which corresponds to the record number in the register. The records within this record set are presented in two ways:
- By date: Miners memorial - free quarrymen by date
- By name:. Miners memorial - free quarrymen by name