Bowden Close Colliery roof fall, 1883

On 22 June 1883 two hewers at Pease and Partners' Bowden Close Colliery, near Crook, James William S. Phillipson and James Swall, were killed by a fall of stone.

Cause

A fall of stone from two slips in the roof of a jenkin.

What happened

James Swall, 24, was hewing in a jenkin, a narrow working driven into a pillar, when stone came away from two slips, natural partings in the roof, and fell on him. James William S. Phillipson, 26, also a hewer, died the same day; the lists give no separate cause for him. He was buried at Crook.

Recorded claims

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

• Two hewers, James William S. Phillipson and James Swall, were killed at Bowden Close on 22 June 1883. ^1,2,3
• Swall was killed by a fall of stone from two slips while hewing in a jenkin. ^1,3
• The colliery belonged to Pease and Partners Ltd. ^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: “On 22 June 1883 two hewers at Pease and Partners' Bowden Close Colliery, near Crook, James William S. Phillipson and James Swall, were…”
• Hewer (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 22 June 1883 two hewers at Pease and Partners' Bowden Close Colliery, near Crook, James…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Bowden Close Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1880-1889, surnames P, part 2 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1880-1889, surnames S, part 6 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026