Llay Hall Colliery cage accident, 1880

On the morning of 3 December 1880 the cage carrying men down the shaft at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, caught against the underground haulage rope and slipped out of the wooden pipe that guided it, throwing out four men, who were killed.

Cause

The descending cage caught against the underground haulage rope and slipped out of the wooden pipe through which it was conducted down the pit.

What happened

The four men were going down the shaft to their work in the morning. On the way down the cage caught against the haulage rope that worked underground and, by some means, slipped out of the wooden pipe through which it ran down the pit. The men were thrown out and killed: the breaksman George Allen, the bratticeman Peter Ankers and the colliers Thomas Dodd and William Jones.

Recorded claims

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

• On the morning of 3 December 1880 four men were killed descending the shaft at the Llay Hall Coal and Firebrick Company's Llay Hall Colliery. ¹
• The cage caught against the underground haulage rope and slipped out of the wooden pipe through which it was conducted down the pit. ¹
• The men were thrown out of the cage: George Allen, 24, breaksman; Peter Ankers, 30, bratticeman; Thomas Dodd, 47, and William Jones, 30, colliers. ¹
• The four men were descending the shaft to their work in the morning when they were killed. 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: “On the morning of 3 December 1880 the cage carrying men down the shaft at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd,…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…of 3 December 1880 the cage carrying men down the shaft at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, caught against the underground haulage rope and…”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…shaft at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, caught against the underground haulage rope and slipped out of the wooden pipe that guided it, throwing out…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On the morning of 3 December 1880 the cage carrying men down the shaft at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, caught against the…”

Sources

1. (primary) Disasters - Names: Llay Hall, 3 December 1880 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Llay Hall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026