Stoneclough Colliery fall of coal, 1861

Two colliers named Atherton were killed together by a fall of coal while holing in the Trencherbone mine at Stoneclough on 18 September 1861.

Cause

A fall of coal while the men were holing.

What happened

On 18 September 1861 J. Atherton, 26, and T. Atherton, 29, colliers at Knowles and Stott's Stoneclough Colliery, were holing in the Trencherbone mine of the Riverside pit when the coal fell on them and killed them both.

Recorded claims

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

• On 18 September 1861 two colliers, J. Atherton, 26, and T. Atherton, 29, were killed at Stoneclough Colliery by a fall of coal. ^1,2
• They were holing in the Trencherbone mine in the Riverside pit. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to Knowles and Stott. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two colliers named Atherton were killed together by a fall of coal while holing in the Trencherbone mine at Stoneclough on 18 September…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…26, and T. Atherton, 29, colliers at Knowles and Stott's Stoneclough Colliery, were holing in the Trencherbone mine of the Riverside pit when the…”
• Holing (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…colliers named Atherton were killed together by a fall of coal while holing in the Trencherbone mine at Stoneclough on 18 September 1861.”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1860s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (primary) Stoneclough Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026