Lea Green Colliery cabin fall, 1911

A wooden cabin at the pit top of the Queen Pit, Lea Green Colliery, toppled fifteen and a half feet to the ground on 17 June 1911 as three labourers went in for their dinner, killing all three.

Cause

The planks supporting a raised cabin at the pit top had been sawn through during structural alterations.

What happened

On 17 June 1911 three labourers at the Queen Pit of Lea Green Colliery, St Helens, went into a wooden cabin at the pit top, eight feet by six feet three inches, to take their dinner. As they entered, the cabin toppled over and fell fifteen and a half feet to the ground. The planks on which it rested had been sawn through during structural alterations. Joseph Armstrong, 36, John Duffy, 42, and Stephen Kelly, 55, were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 17 June 1911 three labourers were killed at the Queen Pit of Lea Green Colliery when a pit-top cabin fell. ^1,2,3,4
• The dead were Joseph Armstrong, 36, John Duffy, 42, and Stephen Kelly, 55. ^1,2,3,4
• The cabin, eight feet by six feet three inches, fell fifteen and a half feet because the planks it rested on had been sawn through during structural alterations. ^1,2
• The colliery was owned by the Sutton Heath and Lea Green Collieries Co. Ltd. ^1,2

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: “A wooden cabin at the pit top of the Queen Pit, Lea Green Colliery, toppled fifteen and a half feet to the ground on 17 June 1911 as…”
• Heapstead (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A wooden cabin at the pit top of the Queen Pit, Lea Green Colliery, toppled fifteen and a half…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Lea Green, Queen Pit, 17 June 1911 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Joseph Armstrong, Lea Green, 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Duffy, Lea Green, 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Stephen Kelly, Lea Green, 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Lea Green Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026