Rotherham Main Colliery roof fall, 1910

A ripper and his fifteen-year-old assistant were killed in December 1910 by a heavy fall of roof in a haulage road at Rotherham Main Colliery, where rock was being blasted out to make room for tension gear.

Cause

A heavy fall of roof, probably from roof shaken by shot-firing and a large unsupported area, where rock was being blasted for tension gear.

What happened

In December 1910 Frederick Ross, a 38-year-old ripper, and his assistant, Wilfred Ross, aged 15, were working in a haulage road at Rotherham Main where rock was being blasted to make room for the tension gear of the haulage. A heavy fall of roof came down on them and killed them both. The fall was put down to the roof having been shaken by the shot-firing and to the large area left unsupported. One account dates the accident 8 December, another 12 December.

What's uncertain

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

• The accident was on 12 December 1910. (disputed) ¹
• The accident was on 8 December 1910. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• In December 1910 Frederick Ross, a ripper aged 38, and Wilfred Ross, aged 15, were killed by a heavy fall of roof in a haulage road at Rotherham Main Colliery. ^1,2,3
• Rock was being blasted to make room for tension gear; the fall was probably due to the roof being shot-shaken and the large area left unsupported. ^1,2
• The accident was on 12 December 1910. (disputed) ¹
• The accident was on 8 December 1910. (disputed) ^2,3
• The colliery was owned by John Brown and Company Limited. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…1910 by a heavy fall of roof in a haulage road at Rotherham Main Colliery, where rock was being blasted out to make room for tension gear.”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…assistant were killed in December 1910 by a heavy fall of roof in a haulage road at Rotherham Main Colliery, where rock was being blasted out to…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A ripper and his fifteen-year-old assistant were killed in December 1910 by a…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…fifteen-year-old assistant were killed in December 1910 by a heavy fall of roof in a haulage road at Rotherham Main Colliery, where rock was being…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A heavy fall of roof, probably from roof shaken by shot-firing and a large unsupported area, where rock was being blasted for…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Rotherham Main fall of roof, December 1910 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Fred Ross, Rotherham Main, 1910 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Wilfred Ross, Rotherham Main, 1910 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Rotherham Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026