Murton Colliery roof fall, 1898

Two shifters retimbering a place at Murton Colliery were killed by a fall of stone at a slip in the roof on 2 May 1898.

Cause

A fall of stone at a slip in the roof during retimbering.

What happened

On 2 May 1898 two shifters at Murton Colliery, Charles Murphy and James Tatlock, 50, were putting a turn into a place and retimbering it when a fall of stone came away at a slip in the roof and killed them both. Murphy was buried at Holy Trinity, Murton.

Recorded claims

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

• On 2 May 1898 two shifters, Charles Murphy and James Tatlock, 50, were killed by a fall of stone at Murton Colliery. ^1,2,3
• They were putting a turn into a place and retimbering it when stone fell at a slip in the roof. ^1,2,3
• The colliery belonged to the South Hetton Coal Company Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two shifters retimbering a place at Murton Colliery were killed by a fall of stone at a slip in the roof on 2 May 1898.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Murton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Alphabetical list of mining victims 1890-1899: T (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames M part 8 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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