Ludworth Colliery shaft accident, 1845

Four sinkers drawn up Ludworth Pit shaft to shelter from a blasting shot on 8 January 1845 fell to the bottom when their corf slipped off the hook at the Five Quarter seam.

Cause

The corf slipped off the winding hook, which had probably not been properly engaged.

What happened

In January 1845 the sinkers at Ludworth were working at the bottom of the pit shaft. On 8 January, with a shot about to be fired to blast the stone, four of them got into a corf and were drawn up to the Five Quarter seam to be out of reach. The men left at the bottom to fire the powder heard something falling, and the corf and all four men came down the shaft. All were killed outright.

A witness who had been at the bottom was sure the hook had been properly fastened when the corf left. The jury accepted that the corf had probably been resting on the point of the hook with the spring not pushed home, and that it slipped off when it swung out of the vertical at the seam where the men were to get out. The verdict was accidental death, with a deodand of one shilling on the corf.

Investigation & inquiry

Inquest before T. C. Maynard, coroner for Easington Ward, held on 10 January 1845 according to the Durham Mining Museum: accidental death, deodand of one shilling on the corf.

Recorded claims

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

• Four sinkers were killed on 8 January 1845 when the corf carrying them up the Ludworth Pit shaft fell to the bottom. ^1,2
• The dead were Joseph Elsdon, 26, Crake Haddick, 38, John Hunter, 28, and Joseph Robson, 28. ^1,2
• The corf is thought to have rested only on the point of the hook, without the spring closed, and slipped off when it tilted at the Five Quarter seam. ²
• The inquest before T. C. Maynard, coroner for Easington Ward, returned accidental death, with a deodand of one shilling on the corf. ²

Related terminology

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

• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Four sinkers drawn up Ludworth Pit shaft to shelter from a blasting shot on 8 January 1845 fell to the bottom…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Four sinkers drawn up Ludworth Pit shaft to shelter from a blasting shot on 8…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “Four sinkers drawn up Ludworth Pit shaft to shelter from a blasting shot on 8 January 1845 fell to the bottom when their corf slipped…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Ludworth Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Melancholy death of four sinkers in Durham (The North Wales Chronicle, 28 January 1845) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026