"FADING HOPE - END OF DAY THREE,
PELSALL HALL COLLIERY DISASTER 1872" by Steve Dent


The Pelsall Hall Colliery (Mouse Hill Pit) Disaster happened at about 9.00 a.m on Thursday the 14th November 1872 when water from previously unknown & ancient mine workings burst through, trapping 22 men & boys underground. By the end of day three any hope of finding the trapped miners alive was fading fast.The painting depicts this dreadful realization, in the centre is Dorothy Pattison, known locally as Sister Dora. It was Sister Dora who came to comfort the miners families at the Pit Head, bringing food and blankets to distribute. All the miners perished, most from choke damp (carbon dioxide gas ), the youngest just 13 years of age , the oldest 89 years of age.


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