Muiredge Colliery rope break, 1880

On the stormy morning of Sunday 19 December 1880 the winding rope at Muiredge No. 1 Pit, Buckhaven, slipped off its frozen pulley and was cut on the axle, dropping two reddsmen some 80 fathoms down the shaft.

Cause

Part of the wire rope had been snowed up during the night and hardened by frost, so that it slipped off the pulley through the groove; the slack let the cage drop about 13 feet, and the falling weight of cage and men brought the rope down on the square axle, which cut it.

Contributing factors

It was a very stormy morning, with snow falling heavily.

What happened

Muiredge Colliery at Buckhaven, on the Wemyss estate, was worked by Bowman, Cairns and Co. On the morning of Sunday 19 December 1880 James Mathewson and James Braid were being lowered in the cage at No. 1 Pit when the rope parted, and they fell to the bottom of the shaft, about 80 fathoms. Death was instantaneous. Both the axle and the pulley were marked where the rope had run off and been cut.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector's account supposed that the rope went off the pulley, that the fall of the cage, about 13 feet, snapped the rope where it struck the axle, and recorded that it was a very stormy morning with heavy snow.

Recorded claims

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

• On Sunday morning, 19 December 1880, the wire rope snapped as the cage was being lowered at Muiredge Pit, and James Mathewson and James Braid fell about 80 fathoms to the bottom of the shaft and were killed instantly. ¹
• The rope had slipped off the pulley because part of it had been snowed up overnight and hardened by frost, and was cut by falling, with the weight of the cage and men, on the square axle. ¹
• James Mathieson and James Braid, reddsmen, were killed on 19 December 1880 by the breakage of the wire rope; it was supposed that the rope went off the pulley and the fall of the cage, about 13 feet, snapped it where it struck the axle, on a very stormy morning with heavy snow. ²
• Muiredge Pit was then worked by Messrs. Bowman, Cairns and Co. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the cause: “…that it slipped off the pulley through the groove; the slack let the cage drop about 13 feet, and the falling weight of cage and men brought…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “Muiredge Colliery at Buckhaven, on the Wemyss estate, was worked by Bowman, Cairns and…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…frozen pulley and was cut on the axle, dropping two reddsmen some 80 fathoms down the shaft.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…was cut on the axle, dropping two reddsmen some 80 fathoms down the shaft.”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Fife Pits: Muiredge Colliery, Buckhaven — Fife Pits
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Muiredge Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026