Byers Green Colliery roof fall, 1867

On 5 April 1867 two deputies at Bolckow, Vaughan and Co.'s Byers Green Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, were replacing timber at the top of an inclined plane when stone fell from the roof and killed them both: Charles Naisbett, 50, and William Turnbull, 24.

Cause

A fall of stone while the men were replacing timber.

What happened

Deputies were the officials who set and drew timber and kept the roadways safe. At Byers Green on 5 April 1867 Charles Naisbett and William Turnbull were renewing the timber at the top of an inclined plane, a haulage road on a slope, when a fall of stone came down on them.

Both men were killed. Naisbett was 50 and Turnbull 24.

Recorded claims

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

• On 5 April 1867 two deputies, Charles Naisbett, 50, and William Turnbull, 24, were killed by a fall of stone at Byers Green Colliery. ^1,2,3
• They were replacing timber at the top of an inclined plane when the stone fell. ^2,3
• The colliery was then worked by Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. 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: “…5 April 1867 two deputies at Bolckow, Vaughan and Co.'s Byers Green Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, were replacing timber at the top of an…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 5 April 1867 two deputies at Bolckow, Vaughan and Co.'s Byers Green Colliery, near Bishop…”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Turnbull were renewing the timber at the top of an inclined plane, a haulage road on a slope, when a fall of stone came down on them. Both men…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Byers Green Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Colliery Accident: Byers Green, 5 April 1867 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1860s N: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

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