Hartford Colliery cage accident, 1909

On the morning of 20 July 1909 four men lowered down the shaft at Hartford Colliery, Cramlington, fell out of the cage to the bottom and were killed: the fitters' labourers Anthony Clarke and William Dickson, the fitter Frederick Robinson and the electrical engineer John Sturdy.

What happened

Four men employed on fitting work and electrical installation were being lowered down the shaft of Hartford Colliery, near Cramlington, at about nine o'clock on the morning of 20 July 1909. According to a newspaper report the pit cage suddenly gave way and fell some 200 feet to the bottom, killing all four of the workmen; the Durham Mining Museum records that they fell out of the cage down the shaft. The dead were Frederick Robinson, a fitter, Anthony Clarke, a fitter's labourer, William Dickson, a fitter's labourer, and John Sturdy, an electrical engineer.

Recorded claims

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

• Four men, Anthony Clarke, William Dickson, Frederick Robinson and John Sturdy, fell out of the cage down the shaft at Hartford Colliery on 20 July 1909 and were killed. ^1,2
• The dead were two fitter's labourers, a fitter and an electrical engineer. ^1,2
• A newspaper report said that at about nine o'clock the cage gave way while the men were being lowered and fell 200 feet to the bottom. ²

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…down the shaft at Hartford Colliery, Cramlington, fell out of the cage to the bottom and were killed: the fitters' labourers Anthony Clarke…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…morning of 20 July 1909 four men lowered down the shaft at Hartford Colliery, Cramlington, fell out of the cage to the bottom and were killed:…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On the morning of 20 July 1909 four men lowered down the shaft at Hartford Colliery, Cramlington, fell out of the cage to the…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Hartford Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Northumberland newspaper notices transcribed on deathonmydoorstep.com — Death on My Doorstep

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026