Bolsover Colliery rope accident, 1892

Three colliers were killed at the new Bolsover Colliery on 1 August 1892 when a hemp rope broke as they were raising a wire conductor in the shaft.

Cause

A hemp rope broke while an iron wire conductor was being raised in the shaft.

What happened

In August 1892 the Bolsover Colliery Company's first pit, sunk from 1890, was still being fitted out. On 1 August three colliers, George Collumbine, Frank Shone and George Wood, were raising an iron wire conductor in the shaft with a hemp rope when the rope broke, and all three were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 1 August 1892 three colliers, George Collumbine, 33, Frank Shone, 19, and George Wood, 37, were killed at Bolsover Colliery when a hemp rope broke. ^1,2,3,4
• The rope was being used to raise an iron wire conductor in the shaft. ^1,2,3,4
• The colliery belonged to the Bolsover Colliery Company. ^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: “Three colliers were killed at the new Bolsover Colliery on 1 August 1892 when a hemp rope broke as they were raising a wire…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…when a hemp rope broke as they were raising a wire conductor in the shaft.”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1890s S2: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero
2. (primary) Bolsover Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames C part 4 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
4. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames W part 7 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026