Rockingham Colliery roof fall, 1888

A collier, G. Dickinson, and his eighteen-year-old hurrier, S. Rigby, were killed by a fall of roof at Rockingham Colliery, Birdwell, on 8 October 1888.

Cause

A fall of roof.

What happened

On 8 October 1888 a fall of roof at Rockingham Colliery, worked by Newton, Chambers and Co., killed G. Dickinson, a collier of 34, and S. Rigby, a hurrier aged 18.

Investigation & inquiry

The deaths are recorded in the Mines Inspector's report for 1888.

Recorded claims

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

• A fall of roof on 8 October 1888 killed G. Dickinson and S. Rigby. ^1,2,3,4
• Dickinson, 34, was a collier and Rigby, 18, a hurrier. ^1,2,4
• The colliery was worked by Newton, Chambers and Co. ^2,4

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: “…hurrier, S. Rigby, were killed by a fall of roof at Rockingham Colliery, Birdwell, on 8 October 1888.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A collier, G. Dickinson, and his eighteen-year-old hurrier, S. Rigby, were killed by a fall of roof at Rockingham Colliery,…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…and his eighteen-year-old hurrier, S. Rigby, were killed by a fall of roof at Rockingham Colliery, Birdwell, on 8 October 1888.”

Sources

1. (primary) Rockingham Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) 1880s R (2): Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Colliery Accident 1888 (Rockingham) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) 1880s D3: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026