Botallack Mine shaft accident

The chain hauling a man-carriage up the Boscawen Diagonal Shaft broke; the carriage ran back out of control and struck timber at the bottom, killing all nine men and boys aboard.

Cause

A link in the hauling chain fractured near the shaft entrance. The break also severed the signal wire to the winding engine, and the carriage's own brake lever was reportedly caught in its loop, leaving the occupants unable to stop it.

What happened

On the evening of Saturday 18 April 1863, nine men and boys were being hauled up the Boscawen Diagonal Shaft at Botallack — a shaft driven at an angle of about 32.5 degrees, extending some 400 fathoms out beneath the seabed — when the chain drawing their carriage broke near the surface. The break also cut the signal wire linking the carriage to the winding engine, and the brake lever was found afterwards caught in its loop, unable to be worked. The carriage ran back down the incline out of control and struck timber at the 190 level with great force, inflicting fatal head injuries on everyone aboard: John Chapple and his son, also John Chapple; Thomas Wall and his son Richard Wall; Michael Nicholas; John and Peter Eddy; and Thomas and Richard Nankervis.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest was held on 24 April 1863 at Bolitho's Queen's Arms Inn, Botallack, before coroner W. Hichens. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, recorded their confidence in the machinery generally, and recommended a subscription for the widows and orphans, to which the mine's adventurers contributed £50.

Recorded claims

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

• Nine men and boys died when the haulage chain broke on the Boscawen Diagonal Shaft on 18 April 1863: John Chapple and his son John, Thomas Wall and his son Richard, Michael Nicholas, John and Peter Eddy, and Thomas and Richard Nankervis. ^1,2
• The coroner's inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death, expressed confidence in the machinery, and recommended a relief subscription for the widows and orphans, to which the mine's adventurers contributed £50. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Botallack Tin Mine Accident - Cornwall - 1863 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Inquest: Botallack Mine, 1863 — Online Parish Clerks, Cornwall (transcribed contemporary inquest report)

Record created: 20 August 2026 · Last researched: 20 August 2026