Rotherham Main Colliery shaft accident, 1891

Sinkers working from a suspended scaffold in a shaft being sunk for John Brown and Company's Rotherham Main Colliery fell when a stay holding one of the scaffold chains broke on 7 July 1891.

Cause

A stay supporting one of the scaffold chains broke, tilting the scaffold.

What happened

Rotherham Main's first shaft was begun in 1890 for the Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Company. On 7 July 1891, with the sinking under way, a stay to which one of the chains of the sinkers' scaffold was suspended broke. The scaffold tilted and the men on it fell off. Four were killed, among them the sinkers G. Dack and G. Greenaway, both 38, and J. Sampy, 34. Another account has eight men falling 60 feet from their wooden platform.

What's uncertain

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

• In 1891 eight miners fell 60 feet from their wooden platform. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• On 7 July 1891 four men were killed at Rotherham Main Colliery, owned by J. Brown and Company, in a shaft accident. ^1,2
• A stay to which one of the chains of the scaffold was suspended broke, causing the scaffold to tilt so that the men fell off. ²
• In 1891 eight miners fell 60 feet from their wooden platform. (disputed) ³
• The colliery's first shaft was begun in 1890 and it went into production in 1894. ³

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: “…in a shaft being sunk for John Brown and Company's Rotherham Main Colliery fell when a stay holding one of the scaffold chains broke on 7 July…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Sinkers working from a suspended scaffold in a shaft being sunk for John Brown and Company's Rotherham Main Colliery fell…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “Sinkers working from a suspended scaffold in a shaft being sunk for John…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Rotherham Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Rotherham Main shaft accident, 7 July 1891 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Rotherham Main Colliery — Wikipedia

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