Bowden Close Colliery

1839 - Boring operations were in progress from the surface on the Willington estate in the neighbourhood of Bowden Close, proving the Brockwell Seam.

1933, 20 Sep - Main, Hutton, Harvey, Yard, Five Quarter, "B" or Top Main seams abandoned

Abbott, Joseph, 28 May 1868, he was riding up the incline on the first of a train of waggons, when they were derailed, he was thrown under the wheels and critically injured; he died a few hours later.

Allison, J. G. Vipond, 06 Nov 1908, aged 15, Driver, He was learning to drive, and was with a waggonwayman and a horsekeeper who were training a new pony. Five full tubs were being hauled outbye up a slight gradient, when the pony became restive, backed, and, apparently unseated the boy who was riding on the last tub. He had fallen backwards, and the last tub had gone over him. The road was in order and there was plenty of room

Anderson, Hugh, 10 Dec 1888, aged 60, Labourer, by a fall of clay while cutting out foundation for boiler seating, there were no sprags or stays used

Archer, John, 22 May 1877, aged 59, Shiftman, fall of roof while making place ready - stone fell from between slips

Armstrong, Robert, 03 Mar 1914, (accident: 14 Feb 1914), aged 20, Hewer, Deceased was hewing in a bord in a seam 3 feet 3 inches thick. The coal was overlaid by ramble 1 foot thick, which was taken down for sufficient width for a tub road. The place had not been driven straight, and he was set on by the deputy to take off side coal. He had reached a point close to the face of the bord, when a fall of ramble took place, breaking his back. The ramble was bad, and it should have been got down.

Birkbeck, Thomas, 22 Oct 1922, (accident: 22 Oct 1914), aged 65, Stoneman, died as a result of injuries received when he had his thigh broken and his back injured

Brett, John, 08 Jan 1912, aged 20, Electrician, was killed by an electric shock

Brunton, John, 22 Sep 1856, Driver, George Elliot, hewer, heard a fall of stone about 50 yards away from his working place, he went towards the area and found a driver, John Brunton, lying with a stone on his head; his horse had also been knocked down. Elliot removed the stone and Brunton was taken home, but he died soon after

Butterfield, Richard W., 22 Aug 1918, aged 48, Hewer, he was found dead in the colliery

Callaghan, John, 20 Apr 1922, (accident: 03 Mar 1920), aged 19, Putter, died from injuries received

Davis, F., 24 Sep 1916, (accident: 15 Jan 1914), aged 27, Hewer, died as th result of injuries received by a fall of stone

Dickinson, George, 11 Apr 1911, aged 51, Hewer, he was working with his nephew bringing back a four yard lift; on sounding the roof they found it heavy, so they set a plank with two props and also a prop and head, which was as much as they considered necessary to make the place safe; shortly afterwards a fall of roof occurred and part of it caught deceased; it smashed down the plank and canted out some more timber; the stone came away from a slip running parallel to the barrow way and extended for a distance of eight feet, with a maximum width of four feet; in its thickest part it was 14 inches thick, Buried: Crook Cemetery

Dixon, Ernest, 05 Jun 1928, aged 49, accidentally killed in the coal washery, Buried: Tow Law Cemetery

Emmerson, John, 26 May 1910, aged 43, Hewer, He was one of a set of men driving a winning place in the seam and following on with a top stone canch. Whilst sitting under the brow of the canch hewing, a stone 5 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet thick came off at two slips and killed him. There was one prop under the stone but it was canted out. The slips should have been seen and guarded against

Fletcher, Thomas, 31 Aug 1864, aged 31, Wagon Rider, crushed by waggons

Foster, Wharton, 16 Dec 1926, aged 48, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Crook Churchyard

Gowland, Thomas, 01 Jun 1878, aged 66, Platelayer, he was thrown from a set of waggons which had run amain on the branch railway

Graham, Anthony, 20 Feb 1874, aged 21, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Hall, George, 16 Jan 1899, aged 54, Hewer, A wedge-shaped piece of stone fell off at a slip, between the face and a plank, and fell upon and killed him.

Hall, James, 18 Mar 1918, (accident: 28 Dec 1917), aged 39, Hewer, died from cancer, allaged to have been accelerated by an injury when he slipped whilst pushing a tub and sprained his abdomen

Hall, William, 21 Aug 1879, aged 18, Putter, while standing taking a drag out of his own tub wheel another tub ran amain down the same bord at a great speed and crushed him between the two tubs

Hudson, James, 29 Sep 1895, (accident: 27 Sep 1895, 11:00 a.m., 6th hour of shift), aged 31, Labourer, severely bruised and shaken by falling down a coal lift, a distance of 30 feet

Hutchinson, Thomas, 18 Feb 1854, aged 13, Driver, he was driving a galloway and three tubs, another boy wondered why the tubs were not coming, went along the way, and found Hutchinson 'sitting on the limmers with a plank of wood lying on the right side of his head, the other side being pressed against the edge of the tub.' The plank, which was six feet long, had fallen from the roof. The boy must have died almost immediately

Ingham, John, 03 Nov 1918, (accident: 22 Oct 1918), aged 56, Hewer, died from injuries received when his finger was crushed between a tub and a piece of coal, septic poisoning supervening

Jackson, William, 11 Dec 1922, (accident: 04 Feb 1920), aged 63, Hewer, died from injuries received

Johnson, Charles, 29 Apr 1912, aged 17, Helper-up, whilst waiting for a hewer to fill a tub, he went into a neighbouring place, which according to the deputy was, owing to the absence of the hewer, fenced off by means of a plank with the word "stop" written upon it in chalk; deceased was found shortly afterwards lying under a fall of stone, partly in the goaf but close against the coal face with a shovel in his hand; this breach of rules resulted in his death

Kidd, Joseph Henry, 23 Oct 1911, aged 14, Driver, he was waiting behind a full set at the inbye end of a landing when the incoming empty set bumped into the full set, and he was killed; the only feasible explanation was that the points had not been right for the empty set entering the landing; after the accident, however, the landing lad rapped the set outbye for reasons best known to himself, and when the points were examined they were found to be secured in the proper position for the empty set

Lane, William, 12 May 1899, aged 20, Putter, When pushing a full tub he was strained internally, and died from the effects thereof the same day.

Leigh, M., 1918, aged 45, Hewer, [approximate date]

McDonald, John, 06 Dec 1864, aged 12, Driver, had signalled the engineman to set the tubs down the bank; he went up at the same time and was run over ; he was killed instantly

Mitchell, James, 14 Oct 1860, aged 40, stepping over a chain and thrown down

Nixon, Edward, 09 Feb 1919, (accident: 08 Feb 1919), aged 52, Hewer, died from injuries received from a fall of roof

Oliver, Edward, 06 Aug 1896, (accident: 05 Aug 1896), aged 38, Locomotive Shunter, He had put a truck into a siding and was afterwards passing with a load of trucks and was getting off them at the wrong side, and was crushed between the truck in the siding and the others. Died the following day

Orriss, Charles William, 30 Jun 1920, (accident: 29 Jun 1920), aged 37, Onsetter, At the inquest at Durham Hospital George Jackson said he and deceased were working at the bottom of the shaft, when he heard something fall against the south cage, and when he went towards the shaft he found Ormiss lying stretched out in the sump; he had been struck on the head by a stone. The men's local inspectors found a place 10 fathoms up the shaft from where the weathered stone had fallen out

Pears, Reginald, 31 Dec 1918, (accident: 21 Dec 1918), aged 16, Pony Driver, he had been seriously injured when a stone weighing a quarter of a ton fell on his foot [Inquest 08 Jan 1919 at Durham County Hospital]

Pearson, William, 16 Jan 1888, aged 48, Hewer, died suddenly from natural causes while taking a coal tub inbye; ventilation all right [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Pearson, William Arthur, 20 Jan 1913, aged 19, Landing Lad, deceased followed the full set out of the landing and was knocked down by the tail rope, which moves over quickly owing to there being a curve just outside the landing; deceased knew the place well; his leg was lacerated by the rope and he died from lockjaw a fortnight later

Phillipson, James William S., 22 Jun 1883, aged 26, Hewer, Buried: Crook Cemetery

Robinson, Thomas, 30 Aug 1918, (accident: 08 May 1918), aged 14, Driver, suffered a strain whilst lifting tubs

Savage, John Thomas, 27 May 1904, (accident: 08 Apr 1904), aged 46, Hewer, Fall of stone close to coal face caused a slight cut and bruise on foot on April 8th last. Nothing was thought of it at time, but symptoms of blood poisoning set in and he died on May 27th

Shaw, Robert, 20 Feb 1919, (accident: 14 Aug 1917), aged 33, Hewer, died as a result, it was alleged, of injuries received through a fall of stone. The injuries were to the head and back, and deceased only worked off and on since the accident

Smiles, John, 20 Oct 1866, aged 20, Hewer, crushed by tubs

Stephenson, John, 27 May 1909, aged 57, Coke Inspector, As the locomotive moved up a road he was walking between it and a retaining wall. The space between gradually lessened and he was at last caught and crushed. He explained before he died that he had been thinking about the placing of certain waggons in the coke-yard and had entirely forgotten where he was

Stevenson, Frederick, 25 Nov 1897, aged 13, Helper Up, A putter was bringing a full tub out, but did not get a sprag into the wheel in time to stop it ; deceased was going in with an empty tub, and he met the one coming out, which joined the one he was pushing, and fatally injured him

Stewart, William, 02 Aug 1864, aged 50, Hewer, fall of stone taking off coal

Stoker, Ernest, 03 Dec 1912, aged 14, Tracer, his duty was to lead a tracing pony which assisted a putter's pony to draw full tubs up a road rising 2½ inches to the yard; the boy was new to the work and, as he was nervous when going through some brattice sheets in front of the ponies, he came behind the tub and joined the putter; the limber pin broke and the tub ran back and killed him; there was plenty of room at the side, but both lads lost their heads; "cows" should be used in such places

Straker, Michael, 24 Sep 1868, aged 33, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Swall, James, 22 Jun 1883, aged 24, Hewer, fall of stone from two slips while hewing in a jenkin

Sykes, Richard, 29 Apr 1919, (accident: 10 Oct 1916), aged 52, Coal Hewer, died as the result, it was alleged, of injuries received through being crushed between a tub and a canch

Tarn, William, 1918, aged 56, Hewer, [approximate date]

Thompson, Birkbeck, 22 Oct 1914, aged 65

Tulip, John T., 01 Mar 1919, (accident: 13 Feb 1919), aged 61, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Varty, Arthur, 15 Sep 1919, (accident: 03 Jan 1919), aged 19, Putter, died from injuries received to his knee on January 3rd, 1919, when he fell on a rail

Vipond, George, 12 Feb 1873, aged 24, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Waites, James, 08 Aug 1884, aged 9, [Not employed - schoolboy], crept through fencing and was drowned in pit pond [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Wharton, Robert, 28 Dec 1881, aged 43, Deputy, fall of stone from a slip while drawing out a broken jud