Bickerstaffe Colliery shaft scaffold fall, 1888

On 4 December 1888 two men fixing a pipe in the pumping shaft at Bickerstaffe Colliery, near Skelmersdale, fell down the pit when a plank of their scaffold broke under them. The plank proved quite rotten, and the man killed with the carpenter was the one whose duty it was to examine the scaffold.

Cause

A rotten plank in the shaft scaffold broke under the two men's weight.

Contributing factors

The scaffold had not been found unsound by the man responsible for examining it.

What happened

Alfred Anderton, 48, an inspector, and James Houghton, 44, a carpenter, were working from a scaffold in the pumping shaft, fixing a pipe, when one of the planks forming the scaffold broke under their weight and both fell down the pit.

When H.M. Inspector examined it, the plank proved to be quite rotten. Anderton was in charge of the shaft, and it had been his duty to examine the scaffold. The inspector attended the inquest.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector of Mines made an inspection and attended the inquest; he found the broken plank quite rotten.

Recorded claims

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

• On 4 December 1888 Alfred Anderton and James Houghton were killed at Bromilow, Forster and Co.'s Bickerstaffe Colliery when the scaffold they stood on in the pumping shaft broke and they fell down the pit. ^1,2,3
• One of the planks forming the scaffold broke under their weight and on inspection proved to be quite rotten. ^2,3
• Anderton was in charge of the shaft and it was his duty to examine the scaffold. ^2,3
• The inspector made an inspection and attended the inquest. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…1888 two men fixing a pipe in the pumping shaft at Bickerstaffe Colliery, near Skelmersdale, fell down the pit when a plank of their scaffold…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “H.M. Inspector of Mines made an inspection and attended the inquest; he found the broken…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 4 December 1888 two men fixing a pipe in the pumping shaft at Bickerstaffe Colliery, near Skelmersdale, fell down the pit when…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Bickerstaffe Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Colliery Accident: Bickerstaffe, 4 December 1888 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1880s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026