Cage

The lift used to raise and lower miners, materials and ore in a mine shaft, named for the strong wire mesh that formed its sides.

Historical usage

The mine cage is credited to John Curr of Sheffield, who introduced it around 1787; before cages came into general use, miners were commonly lowered and raised by a rope, a basket, or simply by climbing ladders down the shaft. Cages became standard equipment at deep shaft mines across Britain through the 19th and 20th centuries.

How it worked

A cage ran on guides fixed to the shaft walls, hauled up and down by a winding engine on a steel cable. Most shafts had two cages sharing one winding drum, arranged so that as one was wound to the surface the other descended — cutting the power needed to move each one, since the load of one partly balanced the other. At the pit bottom, tubs of coal or ore were loaded into the cage for the return trip; the whole cycle, over a shaft several hundred yards deep, could take only around a minute.

Why it was used

A cage let large numbers of miners and heavy loads of ore move quickly and safely between the surface and deep underground workings — indispensable once mines went too deep to make ladders practical for daily use.

Risks & limitations

A cage travelling at speed on a long cable was inherently dangerous if anything failed: an 'overwind', where the cage was wound too far and struck the headgear, was a serious hazard until devices like the 'King Hook' — which automatically released and caught an overwound cage — were introduced to prevent it falling back down the shaft.

Related terminology

King Hook

Images

Sources

1. (secondary) Down t'pit — Down by the Dougie
2. (secondary) Underground at Big Pit National Coal Museum — Google Arts & Culture

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