Kinneil Colliery shaft accident, 1909

On 15 February 1909, as three miners at Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, got onto the cage at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone fell from an old working 123 fathoms up the shaft and crashed through the cage top, killing John Grant and Richard Fitzpatrick.

Cause

A stone fell away from the front of an old mid-working that opened off the shaft 123 fathoms up, and fell onto the cage at the bottom.

What happened

The cage had reached the bottom and the men had just got on to be raised to the surface when the stone came down the shaft, broke through the top of the cage and crushed them. The shaft had been carefully examined that morning and nothing wrong found.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector of mines described the accident in his report for 1909, noting that the shaft had been examined that morning without any defect being seen.

Recorded claims

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

• On 15 February 1909 two miners, John Grant and Richard Fitzpatrick, were crushed on the cage at the bottom of the shaft at Kinneil Colliery when a stone fell down the shaft onto it. ^1,2
• The stone came away from the front of an old mid-working opening off the shaft 123 fathoms up and crashed through the cage top. ^1,2
• The shaft had been carefully examined that morning and no defect seen. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1909, as three miners at Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, got onto the cage at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone fell from an old working 123…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “On 15 February 1909, as three miners at Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, got onto the cage at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone fell from an old working 123 fathoms up the shaft and crashed through the cage top, killing John Grant…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inspector of mines described the accident in his report for 1909, noting that the shaft…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…three miners at Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, got onto the cage at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone fell from an old working 123 fathoms up the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Fatal accidents in Scottish mines, 1909 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) Kinneil Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026