Snydale Colliery shaft accident

Eight men were killed at Snydale Colliery, near Pontefract, when the winding rope broke and a fully loaded cage fell to the bottom of the shaft.

Cause

A steel wire winding rope, in use for about two years, broke after the ascending and descending cages collided in the shaft.

Contributing factors

The ascending cage had left its wooden conductors around 30 yards from the pit bottom, with one conducting rod disconnected at the bottom; the Inspector concluded the cage had worked loose from its guides before the collision, causing the rope to slacken and then suddenly tighten until it parted. The rope, though reported in good order by the enginewright, was found on examination to have broken at a long tear that could not have been seen beforehand.

What happened

The colliery, sunk from 1863 as Snydale Victoria by John Rhodes in partnership with a Mr Dalby, stood in the village of Snydale near Pontefract, working the Stanley Main seam at a depth of about 220 yards. About 9 p.m. on Friday 7 March 1879, a night shift of some 40 men and boys began descending; eight men went down together in the cage at a time, and three cage-loads had already reached the bottom. As the fourth was being lowered, the rope began to vibrate. The head banksman, James Armitage, heard a rumbling in the shaft, stopped the engine at once and sent for the surface manager, Abraham Wordman (also spelt Wardman), and the certificated underground manager, James Eley. The signalling wires to the bottom had been broken in the accident, so those on the surface could not at first learn what had happened, and it was judged too dangerous to move the second cage without knowing the state of the shaft. A message was lowered on a cord attached to a safety lamp, asking whether the men below were safe and where the other cage was. After some time an answer came back from a survivor, Thomas Summister: the first cage had gone into the sump at the bottom with all its occupants, and the men wanted the second cage sent down. Two men descended in a skip on a new rope and found the fallen cage wedged between the shaft conductors; by degrees they freed it and lowered it to the bottom, where the bodies were recovered from the sump and brought to the surface by 1 p.m. the following day, Saturday. The sixteen men and boys still working underground were drawn up safely by the upcast shaft.

Rescue & recovery

Two men descended the shaft in a skip on a newly rigged rope after signal contact was re-established with a survivor via a lowered safety lamp; they freed the wedged cage and recovered the bodies from the sump by the following afternoon. The sixteen men and boys elsewhere underground were brought up safely by the upcast shaft.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest, held at the Station Hotel, Snydale, before coroner Thomas Taylor, witnesses said the cage had been descending at its ordinary speed and nothing irregular had been noticed beforehand. The Inspector, Mr Wardell, examined the shaft and found the ascending cage had left its conductors some 30 yards from the bottom, with one conducting rod disconnected; he concluded the cage had worked loose from its guides and collided with the other, slackening and then suddenly tightening the rope until it broke. The rope, though noted as in good order in the enginewright's report book, was found on examination to have broken at a long tear invisible before the accident. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death".

Recorded claims

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

• The eight men killed were named, with minor spelling variants between sources: Samuel Kerfoot (36), William Douthoit/Douthroit (38) and Charles Alsop/Allsopp (35), byeworkers; John Brown (42), horsekeeper/miner; William Aldridge/Oldridge (32) and William Pegg (28), miners; John Cancannon/Calconnon (29), miner; and Samuel Clamp (20), a pony driver. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…As the fourth was being lowered, the rope began to vibrate. The head banksman, James Armitage, heard a rumbling in the shaft, stopped the engine…”
• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 14 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Pontefract, when the winding rope broke and a fully loaded cage fell to the bottom of the shaft.”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…men and boys still working underground were drawn up safely by the upcast shaft.”
• Skip (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…and the men wanted the second cage sent down. Two men descended in a skip on a new rope and found the fallen cage wedged between the shaft…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…from a survivor, Thomas Summister: the first cage had gone into the sump at the bottom with all its occupants, and the men wanted the second…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Snydale Colliery, 1863 to 1965 — Featherstone Rovers Archive
2. (primary) Victoria Colliery Shaft Accident - Pontefract - 1879 — Northern Mine Research Society (Ian Winstanley / Coal Mining History Resource Centre)

Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 15 September 2026