Alexandra Colliery overwinding accident, 1879

On the morning of 22 October 1879 the engineman at Alexandra Colliery, St Helens, started the winding engine the wrong way as a cage of nine men was being sent down, and the cage rose into the headgear and fell to the bottom of the shaft, killing seven. The Inspector advocated detaching hooks and the coroner's jury recommended them.

Cause

The engineman, Joseph Naylor, turned on the steam without placing the reversing lever in the proper position, so the cage began to ascend instead of descend. The Inspector held that he may have thought the other cage was at the surface or overlooked the lever, and that attention to the indicator and ropes would have prevented the accident.

Contributing factors

The gas light at the pit top had not worked since the summer, so the engineman could not see the cage; the catches were set back for the descent; the banksman had turned to chalk the number of men on the board. Naylor, engineman for eight or nine years, had not made a mistake before.

What happened

Alexandra Colliery, Ravenhead, St Helens, had been sunk by Pilkington Brothers in 1867. At about 5.40 a.m. on 22 October 1879 nine men took their places in the cage for the day shift. The banksman, Martin Mullen, had sent three cage loads down without trouble, set the catches back, knocked 'Down' and turned to chalk the number on the board when he saw the cage creeping up.

William Eccleston, nine days in the pit, shouted for the engine to be stopped and jumped clear as the cage, about four yards above the mouth, gathered speed, dragging a second man with him. The cage struck the headgear, the rope broke, and the cage fell to the bottom of the shaft. The bodies lay in the water in the sump, three in the cage, two at each end of it and two beneath it. At inquest the underlooker gave the shaft as 325 yards deep; the Mercury's report of the next morning gave 400 yards.

The next morning Naylor told the other engineman, Henry Swift, 'I have had a bad accident I have done it', and said he had started the engine the wrong way. The Liverpool Mercury recorded that the dead were members of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Permanent Relief Society, whose rules gave each widow 5s a week and each child 2s 6d until able to work.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest was held at the Fleece Hotel, St Helens, before the District Coroner, Mr Driffield, and H.M. Inspector Mr Hall had examined the scene. He found the double horizontal winding engine, with 25-inch cylinders and a 4-foot stroke, in good order and fitted with a proper indicator, and reported that nothing in the machinery made safe winding difficult except the want of a light at the surface. He gave the national figures: up to December 1878, 45 people had lost their lives in overwinding accidents in coal and ironstone mines in Great Britain, one fatal accident to nine and a half million windings.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found that the deaths were caused by the cage being pulled up by Joseph Naylor, thought it possible he misunderstood the signal, and thought that had the pit brow been lit and the catches in use the accident would not have occurred. Asked directly, the foreman said the evidence would not support manslaughter. They added that Mullen was not competent to be in charge of so many lives.

Changes to practice & legislation

The Inspector advocated the use of detaching hooks, and the jury unanimously recommended that safety or detaching hooks be supplied to the pit.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The underlooker gave the shaft at the inquest as 325 yards deep, where the Liverpool Mercury gave 400 yards. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• An overwinding accident at Alexandra Colliery, St Helens, on 22 October 1879 killed seven men and injured two who had jumped from the cage. ^1,2
• The engineman Joseph Naylor started the winding engine the wrong way without reversing the lever, so the cage carrying nine men rose into the headgear. ¹
• The shock broke the rope and the cage fell to the bottom of the shaft, the bodies being recovered from the sump that afternoon. ^1,2
• H.M. Inspector Mr Hall concluded that the accident occurred through Naylor neglecting to place the reversing lever properly, and advocated detaching hooks. ¹
• The coroner's jury did not find manslaughter, recommended unanimously that safety or detaching hooks be supplied to the pit, and thought the banksman not competent to be in charge of so many lives. ¹
• The underlooker gave the shaft at the inquest as 325 yards deep, where the Liverpool Mercury gave 400 yards. (disputed) ^1,2

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…not see the cage; the catches were set back for the descent; the banksman had turned to chalk the number of men on the board. Naylor,…”
• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 12 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, St Helens, started the winding engine the wrong way as a cage of nine men was being sent down, and the cage rose into the headgear…”
• Detaching Hook (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…to the bottom of the shaft, killing seven. The Inspector advocated detaching hooks and the coroner's jury recommended them.”
• Heapstead (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “The gas light at the pit top had not worked since the summer, so the engineman could not see the…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…fell to the bottom of the shaft. The bodies lay in the water in the sump, three in the cage, two at each end of it and two beneath it. At…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Alexandra Colliery Shaft Accident, St Helens, 1879 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Seven men killed at St Helens colliery, Liverpool Mercury, 23 October 1879 — Old Mersey Times
3. (secondary) St Helens, Alexandra Colliery (1867-1925) — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 25 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026