Foggs Colliery cage accident, 1907

Just after four in the afternoon of 4 October 1907, as men were being wound up at the end of the shift, the ascending cage at Foggs Colliery, carrying ten men on its upper deck, struck the descending cage where they passed in the old downcast shaft. Its rope was pulled from the capping, the safety catches failed, and the cage fell to the bottom of the shaft, crashing into the water of the sump. All ten men were killed.

Cause

One of the pitch-pine conductor rods broke from the vibration of the ascending cage, its bearers being 15 feet apart; the cages, with three and a half inches' clearance where they passed, collided, the shock drew the rope from its capping, and Owen's safety catches did not hold the falling cage.

What happened

The downcast shaft was old, 10 feet 6 inches across by the inspector's account, with two cages back to back on wooden conductors; at Easter 1907 the single-deck cages had been replaced by double-deck ones. The onsetter, Jacob Fletcher, had sent six cageloads away. The seventh carried ten men on the upper deck and two full tubs below, while the descending cage held four empty tubs. A metallic crash was heard in the shaft, then a second as the cage hit the wooden scaffolding and the sump. The engineman felt nothing on the engine; the banksman said the collision was 'like a gun going off', and the rope on the office side was found off its pulley.

Rescue & recovery

Britland, Greenhalgh and William Angrove were lowered in a pit-box by a capstan engine and found the descending cage jammed across the shaft; further parties including the manager, Mr Jones, straightened it and reached the fallen cage, which had wedged itself against the shaft side a few yards below the water.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquiry was held at Bolton Town Hall on 18 December 1907, and R. A. S. Redmayne, professor of mining at Birmingham, reported on the accident to Parliament (Cd. 3979). The inspector, Mr Gerrard, blamed a broken conductor and said the remedy was simple: bearers halfway between the existing ones near the meetings, as had been proved in other shafts in the district.

What's uncertain

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

• Nine men died in the 1907 accident. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• On 4 October 1907 an ascending cage carrying ten men collided with the descending cage at Foggs and fell to the bottom, killing all ten. ^1,2,3
• The rope drew from its capping and Owen's safety catches failed to hold the cage. ^2,3
• The inspector found that a wooden conductor broke from the vibration of the cage, the bearers being 15 feet apart. ²
• Nine men died in the 1907 accident. (disputed) ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and the sump. The engineman felt nothing on the engine; the banksman said the collision was 'like a gun going off', and the rope on the…”
• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 11 times in this record, first in the summary: “…as men were being wound up at the end of the shift, the ascending cage at Foggs Colliery, carrying ten men on its upper deck, struck the…”
• Capstan (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…Greenhalgh and William Angrove were lowered in a pit-box by a capstan engine and found the descending cage jammed across the shaft;…”
• Onsetter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the single-deck cages had been replaced by double-deck ones. The onsetter, Jacob Fletcher, had sent six cageloads away. The seventh carried…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…cage fell to the bottom of the shaft, crashing into the water of the sump. All ten men were killed.”

Sources

1. (secondary) List of mining disasters in Lancashire — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) NMRS: Foggs Colliery Cage Accident, Bolton, 1907 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS deaths database: Peter Bleakley, Fogg's, 4 October 1907 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Lewis Dawson, Coal Mining at Fogg's pit, Darcy Lever (Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Kingfisher Trail project 2016/17) — Lancashire Wildlife Trust

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026