On 6 July 1897 a chock drawer and a deputy were buried and k

On 6 July 1897 a chock drawer and a deputy were buried and killed by a sudden fall of ground on the engine-plane landing at Usworth Colliery, in County Durham.

Cause

A sudden fall that canted out about half a dozen steel girders as the men renewed them on the engine-plane landing, despite extra props and stays having been set.

What happened

Michael Cosgrove, a chock drawer of 36, was renewing steel girders on the engine-plane landing with others; they had taken out one old girder, having first carefully put in extra props and stays. As the deputy, John George Hodgson, 28, made his examination of the place, a fall suddenly occurred, canting out about half a dozen girders and burying both men, who were killed on the spot. The Inspector, J. L. Hedley, noted that for once no carelessness was to blame: the men had done everything experience could suggest, and the accident belonged to the rare class against which foresight is unavailing.

Sources

1. (primary) Usworth Colliery fall of ground, 6 July 1897 (from the 1897 Mines Inspector's Report, C 8819, Newcastle District, J. L. Hedley) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Usworth Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 22 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026