Loscoe Colliery rope accident, 1852

An iron splicing-plate in the hemp winding rope at E. F. Whittingstall's Loscoe Colliery, near Heanor, snapped over the pulley on 5 October 1852, dropping the cage and two men down the shaft; the safety catch failed to hold it.

Cause

An iron splicing-plate in a flat hemp winding rope snapped as it passed over the pulley; the safety catch failed to arrest the cage.

What happened

At Loscoe Colliery one winding engine drew coal from two pits, with a flat hemp rope in one and a flat wire rope in the other. On 5 October 1852 two men, John Allen and Samuel Milward, were being drawn up on the hemp rope when an iron splicing-plate in it snapped as it bent over the pulley. The cage and the men fell down the shaft, and a long length of rope tumbled on top of them and killed them. Fourdrinier's patent safety apparatus, meant to grip the guides and stop a falling cage, was fitted but failed to hold; whether through a fault in it or the flexibility of the wooden conductors could not be established.

When the hemp rope fell the engineman lost all control of the drum, because the brake on the flywheel's rim did not work, and the valuable wire rope in the other pit ran to the bottom, tore from the drum and was ruined. The engineman said he had repeatedly warned the manager that the flywheel brake was defective.

Investigation & inquiry

Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, reported the case, noting the engineman's evidence that he had repeatedly warned the manager about the defective flywheel brake, and urging that safety apparatus be kept in repair, conductors kept rigid, and splicing-plates avoided in ropes passing over small pulleys.

Recorded claims

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

• On 5 October 1852 John Allen and Samuel Milward were killed at Loscoe Colliery by the breaking of a pit rope. ^1,2,3,4
• The colliery was owned by E. F. Whittingstall. ^1,3,4
• An iron splicing-plate in the hemp rope snapped as it bent over the pulley, and the cage and men fell down the shaft; Fourdrinier's safety apparatus failed to stop it. ³
• The engineman said he had repeatedly warned the manager about the defective flywheel brake. ³

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Heanor, snapped over the pulley on 5 October 1852, dropping the cage and two men down the shaft; the safety catch failed to hold it.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “Charles Morton, H.M. Inspector of Mines, reported the case, noting the engineman's evidence that he had…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the pulley on 5 October 1852, dropping the cage and two men down the shaft; the safety catch failed to hold it.”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “At Loscoe Colliery one winding engine drew coal from two pits, with a flat hemp rope in one and a flat…”
• Winding Rope (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “An iron splicing-plate in the hemp winding rope at E. F. Whittingstall's Loscoe Colliery, near Heanor, snapped over…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1850s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (primary) Loscoe Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Loscoe, 5 October 1852 — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining deaths, 1850-1859 (M) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley collection)

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