Medomsley Colliery cage accident, 1923

On 24 February 1923 the ascending cage in Medomsley Colliery's Busty shaft left its guides about 80 feet below the surface, struck a cast-iron girder, and fell, killing the two onsetters and six shaft lads riding in it. The inquiry blamed cage shoes left in use too long against a guide partly renewed with rail of a different section.

Cause

The cage shoes on the north-west guide came off the rail, letting the ascending cage turn and strike a cast-iron bunton at 80 feet; the detaching-hook jaws broke and the cage fell.

Contributing factors

Shoes worn beyond safe use, examined by a method that could not measure the wear; part of the north-west guide renewed in 1921 with rail of a different section; brittle, badly cast shoes.

What happened

Medomsley Colliery, two miles north of Consett, belonged to the Consett Iron Company. Its Busty shaft, ten feet across and 453 feet deep, was wound by a 350 hp Ward Leonard Ilgner winder. On the morning of Saturday 24 February 1923, after coal winding, the two foreshift onsetters and six youths from the shaft bottom siding got into the north cage, four on each deck. About 80 feet from the surface the banksman heard a crash; the engine partly stopped and the rope flew up. The cage had come off its guides, hit the girder carrying the stable water pipes, and fallen with its occupants.

Rescue & recovery

A temporary headgear was built and the enginewright, Joseph Simpson, went down in a bosun's chair and found the damaged cage stuck fast and empty at 150 feet. The steel erector Joseph Malpass secured it with a chain, went on down and found the bodies on top of the south cage near the bottom; they were brought out by a travelling drift.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner, John Graham, sitting without a jury on 26 February, found the men fell after the cage left its guides following the breakage of one or more shoes. An inquiry by Henry Walker, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector, opened at Consett Police Court on 20 June; the National Physical Laboratory found the shoes badly cast, hard and brittle.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

The inquiry's recommendations were welcomed by the Consett Iron Company, which said all were acted upon.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

People

8 of the 8 who died are named in the archive; the rest are not named in the sources read for this record.

• Thomas Cant · victim, 1923 — Onsetter, 48 (NMRS) or 47 (DMM), of Leadgate.
• Thomas Anthony Cooper (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 16, of Consett.
• James Hornsby (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Onsetter, 31, of Consett.
• Joseph Malpass · rescuer, 1923 — Steel erector; secured the wrecked cage and found the bodies.
• Francis O'Hanlon (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 18, of Consett.
• Denis O'Neill (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 17, of Consett (NMRS spells O'Neil).
• Clarence Pogue (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 17, of Consett.
• Joseph Simpson · rescuer, 1923 — Enginewright; went down the shaft in a bosun's chair after the fall.
• James Smith (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 17.
• Thomas William Thorburn (d. 1923) · victim, 1923 — Shaft lad, 16, of Consett.
• Henry Walker · inspector, 1923 — H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector of Mines who held the inquiry.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• A search snippet from the Coal Mining History Resource Centre gives nine deaths; not read. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Eight persons lost their lives when ascending in the cage in the Busty shaft on 24 February 1923. ^1,2
• Henry Walker concluded the cage shoes on the north-west guide came off because they had been left in use too long, and that partial renewal with a rail of different section worsened conditions. ²
• Coroner John Graham, without a jury, found the men fell after the cage left the guides following breakage of one or more cage shoes. ²
• A search snippet from the Coal Mining History Resource Centre gives nine deaths; not read. (uncertain) ²

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  The banksman heard the crash and stopped the engine.
• Bunton (direct cause)
  The cage struck a cast-iron bunton at 80 feet.
• Cage (direct cause)
  The ascending cage left its guides and fell.
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…the breakage of one or more shoes. An inquiry by Henry Walker, H.M. Deputy Chief Inspector, opened at Consett Police Court on 20 June; the…”
• Onsetter (contextual relationship)
  Two of the dead were onsetters.

Sources

1. (secondary) Medomsley Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Medomsley Colliery Shaft Accident – Consett – 1923 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026