MineArchiveMontgomeryfield Colliery cage accident, 1898
At about six in the morning of 24 February 1898 four lads were being lowered to the Tourha landing of No. 1 Montgomeryfield Pit, Dreghorn, when coils of the rope slipped off the drum onto a cross beam, which broke. The double-decked cage fell to the bottom, through a newly laid scaffold and into fourteen feet of water, killing all four, two of them brothers.
| Date | 24 February 1898 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Montgomeryfield Colliery |
| Region | North Ayrshire |
| Type | Winding / Shaft Accident |
| Fatalities | 4 (4: James Robertson (17), of Dreghorn; William Wallace (13, newly left school) and his elder brother Alexander Cunningham Wallace, of Montgomeryfield Row; and George Miller (17), of Cotton Row, Irvine. Three died outright; William Wallace died shortly after being brought out.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
Two or three coils of the rope slipped off the drum. Two explanations were put to the inquiry: that the cage had struck the 'shutts', or that the jacket of one of the boys, later found in the shaft, had caught between the cage and the slide. The jury found that the evidence did not show what caused the rope to slip.
What happened
The pit was 75 fathoms deep, with landings at the Tourha coal 15 fathoms down and at the parrot or splint coal at the bottom; the cage was about 15 fathoms down when the rope went wrong, so the boys fell some 45 to 50 fathoms. Only about half a dozen men were below, the day men being about to descend. The pit bottomer heard a rumble and ran to the landing as the cage broke through the scaffold into the sump.
Rescue & recovery
The men at the bottom pulled the injured Wallace boy from under the cage cover and the bodies from the water, and took them in a hutch to the escape shaft and up to the pithead. The pit and its connected neighbour stood idle until the shaft was repaired.
Investigation & inquiry
The Procurator Fiscal from Kilmarnock and the Inspector of Mines for Scotland came to the pit the same day. A fatal accident inquiry at the Sheriff Court in March found that the four were killed because the rope had slipped off the drum, and that the evidence did not show what caused it to slip.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
John Wallace, father of the two brothers, and other fathers raised actions for damages against Archibald Kenneth and Sons, coalmasters, Kilwinning, in Ayr Sheriff Court.
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 telegraphed report said the rope suddenly broke and the cage fell about thirty fathoms. (disputed) 2
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On the morning of 24 February 1898 four young miners were killed when the cage fell to the bottom of No. 1 Montgomeryfield Pit, near Irvine. 1,2
- The fatal accident inquiry found that the rope had slipped off the drum and that the evidence did not show what made it slip. 1
- A telegraphed report said the rope suddenly broke and the cage fell about thirty fathoms. (disputed) 2
- The pit belonged to Archibald Kenneth and Sons. 1,2
- Fathers of the boys sued Archibald Kenneth and Sons for damages in Ayr Sheriff Court. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Cage (contextual relationship)
Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…off the drum onto a cross beam, which broke. The double-decked cage fell to the bottom, through a newly laid scaffold and into fourteen…” - Fathom (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the narrative: “The pit was 75 fathoms deep, with landings at the Tourha coal 15 fathoms down and at the…” - Onsetter (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…half a dozen men were below, the day men being about to descend. The pit bottomer heard a rumble and ran to the landing as the cage broke through the…” - Pithead (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…water, and took them in a hutch to the escape shaft and up to the pithead. The pit and its connected neighbour stood idle until the shaft was…” - Sump (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…ran to the landing as the cage broke through the scaffold into the sump.”
Sources
- (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Montgomeryfield 1898 — Scottish Mining Website
- (primary) Welsh Newspapers: Evening Express, 24 February 1898, 'Hurried to their death' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026