Chickenley Heath Colliery rope breakage, 1857

On 26 June 1857 a three-month-old wire rope tore out of its coupling as it drew a miner and his young son up the shaft at Chickenley Heath Colliery, near Dewsbury, and both fell to their deaths. The inspector blamed a pulley far too small for the rope.

Cause

The round wire rope, three-quarters of an inch thick, tore out of the coupling or socket at its end.

Contributing factors

Though only three months in use, the rope had been prematurely and unnecessarily worn and damaged by passing over a pulley only four feet in diameter. The shaft's conductors were round wire cables, so a safety catch on the cage could not have held it.

What happened

R. Ellis and his son were being drawn up the pit when the rope unexpectedly tore out of the coupling at its end, and the man and boy fell down the shaft and were killed.

Investigation & inquiry

Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, listed it as accident No. 31 in his tabular list for 1857. He found the rope worn by the small pulley and advised the proprietors to substitute pulleys of ten feet diameter and to increase the wire ropes to an inch thick. A safety apparatus on the cage, he noted, would not have worked with round wire conductors; with wooden conductors one might perhaps have prevented such a death, though such apparatus did not always arrest a falling load.

Recorded claims

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

• On 26 June 1857 a miner, R. Ellis, and his son, W. Ellis, were killed at Messrs. Greaves's Chickenley Heath Colliery, near Dewsbury, when the round wire rope drawing them up the shaft tore out of its coupling. ¹
• The rope, three-quarters of an inch in diameter, had been at work only three months and had been prematurely worn by running over a pulley only four feet across. ¹
• The inspector, Charles Morton, advised the owners to fit pulleys ten feet in diameter and wire ropes an inch thick. ¹
• A safety apparatus on the cage would not have worked, because the conductors were round wire cables. ¹
• R. Ellis and W. Ellis, a boy, were killed on 26 June 1857 by the breaking of a round wire pit rope. ²

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…shaft's conductors were round wire cables, so a safety catch on the cage could not have held it.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…it drew a miner and his young son up the shaft at Chickenley Heath Colliery, near Dewsbury, and both fell to their deaths. The inspector blamed…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, listed it as accident No. 31 in his tabular list for 1857. He found…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…tore out of its coupling as it drew a miner and his young son up the shaft at Chickenley Heath Colliery, near Dewsbury, and both fell to their…”

Sources

1. (primary) Disasters - Names: Chickenley Heath, 26 June 1857 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Chickenley Heath Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026