Aldridge Colliery bowk accident

On 9 November 1875 two sinkers were killed at Aldridge Colliery, in the South Staffordshire coalfield, when the bow of an ascending sinking bowk snapped and the bowk and its contents fell down the shaft onto them.

Cause

The iron bow of a full sinking bowk being wound up snapped, and the bowk and its contents fell down the shaft.

What happened

Charles Jascoe, aged 30, and Joseph Yates, aged 25, both sinkers, were being lowered down the sinking pit on a change of shift when the bow of a full bowk ascending in the shaft gave way; the bowk and its load fell and struck the two men, killing them on the spot. Several others working at the bottom escaped, which the Inspector, James P. Baker, attributed to the large size of the shaft. The fractured bow was afterwards found to have a flaw in the iron, put down to bad manufacture or to unskilled making of the bow.

Sources

1. (primary) Aldridge Colliery shaft accident, 9 November 1875 (from the 1875 Mines Inspector's Report, C. 1499, South Staffordshire District, James P. Baker) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Aldridge Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026