Deaf Hill Colliery roof fall, 1897

Two hewers were killed by a fall of stone from between two slips in a longwall face at Deaf Hill Colliery, County Durham, on 12 February 1897.

Cause

A fall of stone from between two slips in a longwall face.

What happened

On 12 February 1897 a mass of stone came away from between two slips in a longwall face at Deaf Hill Colliery, killing the hewers Thomas Armstrong, 35, and George Kent, 30. Armstrong was buried at St Bartholomew's, Thornley.

Recorded claims

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

• On 12 February 1897 a fall of stone at Deaf Hill Colliery killed two hewers, Thomas Armstrong, 35, and George Kent, 30. ^1,2
• The stone came down from between two slips in a longwall face. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to the Trimdon Coal Company. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…fall of stone from between two slips in a longwall face at Deaf Hill Colliery, County Durham, on 12 February 1897.”
• Hewer (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two hewers were killed by a fall of stone from between two slips in a longwall…”
• Longwall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two hewers were killed by a fall of stone from between two slips in a longwall face at Deaf Hill Colliery, County Durham, on 12 February 1897.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Deaf Hill Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) 1890s K: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026