Seaton Delaval Colliery shaft accident, 1924

A clutch on the crab-engine drum broke as a walling scaffold was being raised in the Melton sinking at the Seaton Delaval Coal Company's Hastings Colliery on 19 September 1924, dropping three sinkers into the flooded sump.

Cause

Fracture of a clutch on the drum shaft of the crab engine holding the walling scaffold; no definite cause of the fracture was found.

What happened

At 6.40 in the evening of 19 September 1924, in the third hour of the shift, three sinkers were lining the bottom of the Melton Sinking Pit at the Seaton Delaval Coal Company's Hastings Colliery with masonry blocks from a walling scaffold. The shaft had been deepened by about 45 fathoms. The scaffold hung from a single-cylinder geared crab engine at the surface and rested on four draw bolts; ten fathoms of water stood in the sump below, with the scaffold three fathoms above it.

The crab rope was attached and the scaffold lifted to free the bolts. On the signal to raise, it had moved only a few inches when the clutch on the drum shaft broke. The engineman applied the flywheel brake before he realised the drum was running free, and the rope end had left the drum before he got the drum brake on. The scaffold fell into the sump. The chargeman, James Hankin, was drowned; Richard Pape and Alexander Spence died of shock after being struck on the head by the falling rope.

Investigation & inquiry

Reported by T. Greenland Davies, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Northern Division, in his report for 1924, which found no definite evidence to account for the fracture.

Recorded claims

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

• On 19 September 1924 three sinkers were killed in a shaft accident at the Melton Sinking Pit, Hastings Colliery, of the Seaton Delaval Coal Co. Ltd. ^1,2
• James Hankin, 34, sinker, fell down the shaft at Seaton Delaval on 19 September 1924. ^1,3
• The accident was primarily caused by the fracture of a clutch on the drum shaft of the crab engine. ²
• The chargeman was drowned and the two sinkers died of shock from being hit on the head by the falling rope. ²

Related terminology

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

• Capstan (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “Fracture of a clutch on the drum shaft of the crab engine holding the walling scaffold; no definite cause of the…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…from a walling scaffold. The shaft had been deepened by about 45 fathoms. The scaffold hung from a single-cylinder geared crab engine at the…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “Reported by T. Greenland Davies, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Northern Division, in his report for 1924, which found no…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…drum broke as a walling scaffold was being raised in the Melton sinking at the Seaton Delaval Coal Company's Hastings Colliery on 19…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…on 19 September 1924, dropping three sinkers into the flooded sump.”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Seaton Delaval Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Hastings, Melton Sinking, 19 September 1924 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: James Hankin, Seaton Delaval, 1924 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026