Shirebrook Colliery cage accident, 1907

On 26 March 1907 a worn conductor broke as a cage of fourteen men descended Shirebrook's No. 2 shaft; the cage tilted and three men fell to the bottom. The inquest jury blamed the shaftsmen's judgment and asked for gates on cages.

Cause

The cage 'sluffed' against a worn conductor and the conductor broke, tilting the cage; the inspector traced the failure to the undoing of a braze or weld rather than ordinary wear.

What happened

At about twenty to six on the morning of 26 March 1907, fourteen men were being lowered in the cage of No. 2 shaft at Shirebrook, about 540 yards deep, on the sixth draw of the morning. After some distance the cage 'fired up' against the conductor, lighting the shaft with sparks, tilted at one corner and travelled about a hundred yards like that. Then the conductor broke, the cage tilted the other way and everyone was thrown to the floor and the lights went out. William Edward Limb, William Phillips and Arthur Burton fell out; the onsetter at the bottom saw the three bodies fall one after another. The banksman signalled at once for the engine to stop, and the remaining men were brought down slowly in the dark.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest before Dr A. Green, coroner for the Hundred of Scarsdale, was adjourned so that the Derbyshire Miners' Association and the Miners' Federation could be represented by counsel, and resumed at the Victoria Hotel, Shirebrook, with the inspectors A. H. Stokes and Hepplewhite present. Stokes made clear that the failure came from an unforeseen cause, the undoing of a braze or weld, not ordinary wear. The jury found that the men were accidentally killed through the breaking of a conductor, with a rider that the shaftsmen Clarke and Belcher had made an error of judgment in not condemning a conductor so worn, that all conductors should be examined more efficiently, and that cages should be fitted with gates instead of loose bars, which would probably have saved the men. They commended the banksman, Musgrove, for his prompt signal.

Recorded claims

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

• William Edward Limb (45), William Phillips (27) and Arthur Burton (36) were killed when the bottom conductor of the cage carrying the men down at about 5.40 a.m. broke after about 150 yards; two others were injured, and there were fourteen men in the cage. ¹
• Healey Hero lists Limb, Burton and Phillips as killed at Shirebrook on 26 March 1907 when they fell down the shaft after the cage caught. ²
• The inspector made clear that the accident came not from ordinary wear of the conductor but from an unforeseen cause, the undoing of a braze or weld. ¹
• The jury found the men accidentally killed through the breaking of a conductor, added that the shaftsmen Clarke and Belcher had erred in not condemning it, and recommended better examination of conductors and gates on cages instead of loose bars. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…at the bottom saw the three bodies fall one after another. The banksman signalled at once for the engine to stop, and the remaining men were…”
• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 9 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 26 March 1907 a worn conductor broke as a cage of fourteen men descended Shirebrook's No. 2 shaft; the cage tilted…”
• Onsetter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Edward Limb, William Phillips and Arthur Burton fell out; the onsetter at the bottom saw the three bodies fall one after another. The…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…broke as a cage of fourteen men descended Shirebrook's No. 2 shaft; the cage tilted and three men fell to the bottom. The inquest jury…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (primary) The Shirebrook Cage Disaster, March 26th 1907 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Derbyshire Coalfield fatalities (11) - Healey Hero — Healey Hero

Record created: 24 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026