Low Hall Colliery shaft accident, 1914

Three young men riding up the No. 5 shaft at Low Hall Colliery, near Wigan, on 16 February 1914 were killed when a tub fell down the shaft onto their cage.

Cause

A tub fell down the shaft from above onto the ascending cage.

What happened

On 16 February 1914 Daniel Beesley, a 16-year-old haulage hand, and two drawers, Frank Hague, aged 20, and Robert Jones, aged 22, were ascending the No. 5 shaft at Low Hall Colliery when a tub fell down the shaft onto the cage. All three were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 16 February 1914 three men were killed in the No. 5 shaft at Low Hall Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
• The dead were Daniel Beesley, 16, haulage hand, and Frank Hague, 20, and Robert Jones, 22, drawers. ^1,2,3,4
• A tub fell down the shaft onto the cage in which they were ascending. ^5,1,2
• The colliery was owned by the Moss Hall Coal Company Limited. ^1,2,3,4

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: “…February 1914 were killed when a tub fell down the shaft onto their cage.”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “On 16 February 1914 Daniel Beesley, a 16-year-old haulage hand, and two drawers, Frank Hague, aged 20, and Robert Jones, aged…”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…16 February 1914 Daniel Beesley, a 16-year-old haulage hand, and two drawers, Frank Hague, aged 20, and Robert Jones, aged 22, were ascending the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “Three young men riding up the No. 5 shaft at Low Hall Colliery, near Wigan, on 16 February 1914 were killed…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Hall Colliery, near Wigan, on 16 February 1914 were killed when a tub fell down the shaft onto their cage.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Low Hall No. 5, 16 February 1914 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Daniel Beesley, Low Hall, 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Frank Hague, Low Hall, 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Robert Jones, Low Hall, 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Low Hall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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