Framwellgate Moor Colliery rope accident, 1863

A furnaceman and an eleven-year-old boy fell to their deaths at Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham, on 14 November 1863 when the winding rope broke.

Cause

The winding rope broke.

What happened

On 14 November 1863 the rope broke in the shaft at Framwellgate Colliery, north of Durham, and two fell to the bottom: the furnaceman David Cooper, 52, and William Barron, an eleven-year-old wailer who had no business in the shaft.

Recorded claims

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

• On 14 November 1863 two people fell down the shaft at Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham, when the rope broke: the furnaceman David Cooper, 52, and William Barron, an eleven-year-old wailer. ^1,2
• The boy had no business in the shaft. ¹
• The colliery then belonged to the Marchioness of Londonderry. 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: “…and an eleven-year-old boy fell to their deaths at Framwellgate Colliery, near Durham, on 14 November 1863 when the winding rope broke.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “On 14 November 1863 the rope broke in the shaft at Framwellgate Colliery, north of Durham, and two fell to the…”

Sources

1. (primary) Framwellgate Moor Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1860-1869, surnames C, part 4 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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