Markham Colliery overwind, 1887

An overwind in the new No. 2 shaft at the Staveley company's Markham Colliery, near Chesterfield, killed four sinkers on 3 October 1887.

Date	3 October 1887
Mine	Markham Colliery
Region	Derbyshire
Type	Winding / Shaft Accident
Fatalities	4 (Four killed: Benjamin Glossop, John Pacey, William Pacey and Alfred Smith.)
Context	During active mining

The 'Walking Together' memorial sculpture at the site of the former Markham Colliery, part of a trail of 106 steel figures commemorating the men killed in the colliery's three disasters. — Walking Together at Markham Colliery Douglal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cause

Overwinding in a shaft being sunk.

What happened

In 1887 the Staveley Coal and Iron Company was still sinking the second shaft at Markham, near Chesterfield. On 3 October four of the sinkers, Benjamin Glossop, 36, John Pacey, 39, William Pacey, 17, and Alfred Smith, 29, were killed when they were overwound in the No. 2 shaft.

Recorded claims

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

On 3 October 1887 four sinkers were killed in an overwind at the No. 2 shaft of Markham Colliery, Duckmanton, then being sunk. ^1,2,3,4
They were Benjamin Glossop, 36, John Pacey, 39, William Pacey, 17, and Alfred Smith, 29. ^1,3,4
The colliery belonged to the Staveley Coal and Iron Co. ^1,2,4

Related terminology

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

Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “An overwind in the new No. 2 shaft at the Staveley company's Markham Colliery, near Chesterfield, killed four sinkers on 3 October 1887.”
Overwind (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “An overwind in the new No. 2 shaft at the Staveley company's Markham Colliery,…”
Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “An overwind in the new No. 2 shaft at the Staveley company's Markham Colliery, near Chesterfield,…”
Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Staveley company's Markham Colliery, near Chesterfield, killed four sinkers on 3 October 1887.”

Sources

(secondary) Mining victims, 1880s, P (Patrick) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
(secondary) Mining deaths 1880-1889, surnames S, part 3 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
(primary) Markham Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Colliery accident, Markham No. 2, 3 October 1887 — Durham Mining Museum

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