Byers Green Colliery shaft accident, 1873

On 30 January 1873 a hinged sinking cradle collapsed in a new shaft at Byers Green Colliery, throwing six sinkers eighteen fathoms into the water below. Two of them, Donald McPherson and John Pirt, died; two side chains had never been attached.

Cause

A sinking cradle collapsed because two of its six suspension chains had not been attached.

What happened

Bolckow, Vaughan and Co. were sinking a shaft at Byers Green, near Willington. Seven men stood on a cradle hung in the shaft to wedge the tubbing, the watertight lining: a circular platform almost as wide as the pit, made in two halves joined by iron hinges underneath and meant to hang from six chains, three on each side of the division.

The two side chains had not been attached, though the chargeman had been warned about them, so the cradle hung only from the centre line. As soon as one man stepped to the side, one half tipped, the hinges carried the other with it, and six men fell eighteen fathoms to the bottom. They fell into water; four were little the worse, and the seventh saved himself by seizing the chains. Donald McPherson, 31, was killed, and John Pirt, 36, dislocated his neck and was found drowned. The inspector, James Willis, judged that had the side chains been fixed the accident could not have happened.

Investigation & inquiry

After a very long inquest, at which the inspector assisted the coroner, the jury separated without agreeing a verdict; seven of them wished to return manslaughter against the chargeman, a verdict the inspector thought he deserved.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The second sinker is recorded both as John Pirt and as John Peart, aged 36. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• On 30 January 1873 a sinking cradle collapsed in a shaft at Bolckow, Vaughan and Co.'s Byers Green Colliery, and two sinkers were killed. ^1,2,3
• Two of the cradle's six suspension chains had not been attached, so that it tipped when a man stepped to one side and threw six men eighteen fathoms into the water at the shaft bottom. ²
• The coroner's jury could not agree a verdict; seven jurors wished to find the chargeman guilty of manslaughter. ²
• The second sinker is recorded both as John Pirt and as John Peart, aged 36. (disputed) ^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: “…1873 a hinged sinking cradle collapsed in a new shaft at Byers Green Colliery, throwing six sinkers eighteen fathoms into the water below. Two of…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…a new shaft at Byers Green Colliery, throwing six sinkers eighteen fathoms into the water below. Two of them, Donald McPherson and John Pirt,…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 30 January 1873 a hinged sinking cradle collapsed in a new shaft at Byers Green Colliery, throwing six sinkers eighteen fathoms into…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 30 January 1873 a hinged sinking cradle collapsed in a new shaft at Byers Green Colliery, throwing…”

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, 30 January 1873 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1870s P: 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