Memorial to 1877 Annesley Colliery disaster restored to former glory
A memorial to the miners who died in the 1877 Annesley Colliery disaster has been beautifully cleaned and restored to look as good as new.
The memorial stone, which lies in the churchyard at All Saints’ Church in Annesley, has been restored by specialist grave and memorial cleaners Eternal Respect.
Posting on its Facebook page – fb.com/eternalrespect – the company said: “Really pleased with the results of returning the site back to a condition it deserves.”
On the same thread, the company also provided the names of the miners who died in the disaster, which occurred after an explosion at the pit in June 1877, when it reopened having been closed for a month due to an underground fire.
The main cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
The deceased miners were William Waplington, alias Newbury, aged 37, 16-year-old James Bradbury, Thomas Ward, 55, 19-year-old Samuel Abbot, Thomas Webster and Joseph Pickard, both 45, and 26-year-old George, or Lewis Rye.