MineArchiveAuckland Park Colliery fall, 1906
On 2 August 1906 a hewer and a pony putter were killed by the same fall of stone in the Harvey Seam at Auckland Park Colliery, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham.
| Date | 2 August 1906 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Auckland Park Colliery |
| Region | County Durham |
| Type | Collapse / Roof Fall |
| Fatalities | 2 (Alfred Parry (20), hewer, and Samuel Wilson (17), pony putter; a third hewer was injured.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
The adjoining jud had had all its timber drawn the night before; it suddenly weighted and came down, and its movement drew down the roof of the jud in which the men were working.
What happened
Four hewers and a pony putter were in a jud in the broken workings when the roof over almost the whole area collapsed. The men saw it coming: two hewers stayed close in at the coal face and were got out unhurt, a third was dragged out slightly injured, but the fourth hewer, Alfred Parry (20), and the putter, Samuel Wilson (17), were buried and killed. Some hundreds of tons came down, though the place was described at the inquest as full of timber, with not a broken prop in the jud. The Inspector, R. D. Bain, likened the weight of the fall to one at Elemore the same year.
Sources
- (primary) Auckland Park Colliery fall of stone, 2 August 1906 (from the 1906 Mines Inspector's Report, Cd 3449, Durham District, R. D. Bain) — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Auckland Park Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 4 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026