Auckland Park Colliery Shaft Accident, 1863

Four sinkers were killed at the South Pit of Auckland Park Colliery on 12 September 1863 when the half cradle they were working from overbalanced. Seven men were on it, connecting cast-iron pipes to the tubbing; several went to one side to lift a heavy pipe, their weight tipped the cradle, and four of them fell about 51 fathoms into five feet of water at the bottom of the shaft. The cradle swung back level and the other three were unhurt.

Cause

The cradle was suspended in the shaft by four chains from a capstan or crab rope. Several of the seven men on it had to go to one side to lift a heavy cast-iron pipe into position against the tubbing, and their combined weight at one edge overbalanced it, throwing them and the pipe down the shaft.

Contributing factors

It was a half cradle — roughly a large segment of a circle, rather smaller than the shaft — used because a canvas brattice divided off a segment of the shaft for ventilation. The Inspector noted that a half cradle is more liable to edge up than a whole one nearly filling the shaft, and that the cradle had not been lashed before the men went to one side of it.

What happened

Seven men, including the contractor who had charge of the sinking, were at work on a cradle suspended in the South Pit shaft, connecting cast-iron pipes to the tubbing. To get a heavy pipe into place several of them moved to one side of the cradle. Their weight tipped it up, and four men went down the shaft with the pipe, a fall of about 51 fathoms into some five feet of water at the bottom. Once their weight had left the edge the cradle fell back into a horizontal position, and the three who were left on it were not hurt.

Rescue & recovery

Nothing is recorded of the recovery in the Inspector's account beyond the deaths of all four men.

Investigation & inquiry

The accident is no. 51 in the detailed list appended to the 1863 report of John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Southern District, who set out the mechanics of the fall and drew the practical lessons from it.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

No proceedings are recorded in the sources read. The Inspector noted that precautions had been adopted at the colliery to guard against a similar accident in future.

Changes to practice & legislation

Atkinson recommended in his report that where a number of workmen have occasion to go to the side of a cradle suspended in a shaft, the cradle should first be lashed to prevent it being edged up or canted by their weight, and that an iron bar standing six or eight inches above the level of the cradle all round the edge, a little within it, would in many cases let a man save himself by catching hold of it.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial specific to the accident has been identified. Three of the four men were buried at St Andrew's Churchyard, Bishop Auckland, and the fourth at Netherton Lane Cemetery, Bedlington.

Recorded claims

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

• Four sinkers were killed: Henry Davison, 25, the brothers George and John Elwen, 32 and 45, and Richard Waggett, 21. ^1,2
• Seven men were on a half cradle suspended by four chains from a capstan or crab rope, connecting cast-iron pipes to the tubbing; several moved to one side to lift a heavy pipe and their weight overbalanced the cradle. ²
• The four men fell about 51 fathoms, to a shaft bottom holding about five feet of water; the cradle fell back level and the remaining three escaped unhurt. ²
• The Inspector recommended that a cradle be lashed before workmen go to one side of it, and that an iron bar standing six or eight inches above the cradle's edge would let men catch hold and save themselves. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Auckland Park Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) 1863 Mines Inspectors Report, Southern District, by John J. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines: accident no. 51, Auckland Park South Pit — H.M. Inspectorate of Mines, via the Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 4 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 September 2026