Eccleston Hall Colliery cage accident, 1909

Two men at Eccleston Hall Colliery, St Helens, were fatally injured in 1909 when the descending cage struck long bars they had left too near the shaft at a mouthing, tilting them up onto the men.

Cause

Long bars left too close to the shaft at a mouthing were struck by the descending cage and tilted up.

What happened

Levi Greenall, a 30-year-old dataller, and Thomas Pilkington, a 51-year-old fireman, had been unloading long bars at a mouthing in the shaft of Eccleston Hall Colliery and had signalled the cage away. The bars had been left too near the shaft. When the cage next came down it struck them, and they tilted up, fatally injuring both men.

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 NMRS deaths database dates the accident 6 December 1909. (disputed) ^3,4

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 October 1909 two men were killed at Eccleston Hall Colliery when the descending cage struck bars left too near the shaft. ^1,2
• The NMRS deaths database dates the accident 6 December 1909. (disputed) ^3,4
• The dead were Levi Greenall, aged 30, a dataller, and Thomas Pilkington, aged 51, a fireman. ^1,3,4
• They had been unloading long bars in a mouthing and signalled the cage away; the next time it descended it struck the bars, which tilted up. ^2,3
• The owners were the Lathom brothers (W. and T. Lathom). ^2,4

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…St Helens, were fatally injured in 1909 when the descending cage struck long bars they had left too near the shaft at a mouthing,…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two men at Eccleston Hall Colliery, St Helens, were fatally injured in 1909 when the descending cage…”
• Dataller (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “Levi Greenall, a 30-year-old dataller, and Thomas Pilkington, a 51-year-old fireman, had been unloading…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…a 30-year-old dataller, and Thomas Pilkington, a 51-year-old fireman, had been unloading long bars at a mouthing in the shaft of…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…when the descending cage struck long bars they had left too near the shaft at a mouthing, tilting them up onto the men.”

Sources

1. (primary) Eccleston Hall (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Eccleston Hall shaft accident, 6 October 1909 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Levi Greenall, Eccleston Hall, 1909 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Thomas Pilkington, Eccleston Hall, 1909 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026