Willington Colliery

1838, Apr - The Northern Coal Mining Company commenced operations, with a capital of £500,000. Willington, Framwellgate Moor, and other royalties, were leased ; but in a few years the whole of the capital was expended, as well as an additional sum of nearly equal amount.

1839 - Boring operations were in progress from the surface on the Willington estate in the vicinity of Sunnybrow House, proving the Brockwell Seam.

1934 - Harvey, Brancepeth seams abandoned

Alder, John Henry, 08 Jul 1912, aged 17, Haulage, he was working his first shift in the capacity of junction minder on an endless rope system of haulage, the rope being above the tubs; the tubs were knocked off the rope by the latter passing up through a slotted and iron faced plank; by some means the lad got between the rope and the knock-off, and his body was sawn in two, Buried: St. Stephen's Churchyard/Willington Cemetery

Alderson, Thomas, 14 Sep 1851, (accident: 05 Sep 1851), Hewer, he was crushed by a large stone which fell from the roof on 5 September, he died from internal injuries on the 14th

Aspinall, William, 01 Nov 1880, (accident: 25 Sep 1880), aged 67, Furnaceman, died from injuries received a month earlier at Sunnybrow Colliery; while descending the shaft in the cage, his leg was caught between the cage and the sheaves, causing a severe fracture and laceration; the leg was subsequently amputated

Axlebrough, Israel, 01 Oct 1895, 6:45 p.m., 3rd hour of shift, aged 53, Shifter, sudden fall of stone in a bord

Bailes, Michael, 02 Dec 1878, (accident: 21 Oct 1878), aged 24, Collier, serious injury to spine by a fall of stone in a broken jud

Bailes, Thomas, 17 Jan 1881, aged 16, Driver, run over by a set of full tubs while coming down a bank, the horse appears to have got out of the right track

Bell, William, 15 Jun 1891, aged 54, Deputy, took an apoplectic fit while at his work and died in the pit

Bracken, Cuthbert, 12 Nov 1902, aged 15, Wheel Boy, he attached two full tubs to the endless rope, and was riding on the rope in front of the tubs ; at a junction, 40 yards away, a "knock-off" is fixed, through which the rope passes, and he was caught between this, the tubs, and the rope, and decapitated

Buckingham, John, 14 Apr 1865, aged 33, Hewer, fall of stone in broken

Burrell, Francis, 14 Jul 1846, crushed between waggons

Burrell, Richard, 08 Sep 1908, aged 70, Shifter, He, unauthorised, was riding outbye on the top of a full tub which he, of his own accord, had hung on to the endless rope, to take his gear from one part of the mine to another. At a way-end his head was caught against a baulk. He died from pneumonia set up by the accident

Cainin, Thomas, 21 Jan 1897, (accident: 20 Jan 1897), aged 23, Hewer, Ruptured himself while hewing, and died the following day

Charlton, Christopher, 28 Jun 1853, Christopher Charlton and John Gott were taking some water from a board. Charlton had gone about twelve yards away, when Gott heard a fall of stone. A large stone had fallen on Charlton, who died after being taken to bank

Cooke, John, 02 Jul 1880, (accident: 12 Jun 1880), aged 42, Engineman, leg broken and severely scalded by steam pipes breaking and falling

Copeland, William, 12 Nov 1885, aged 45, Hewer, fall of roof while working between slips in a bord, left a wife and four children

Coughlin, R., 08 Aug 1859, aged 41, Deputy, fall of stone in the rolleyway

Coulson, Wilson, 06 Jan 1903, aged 52, Hewer, killed by cauldron-shaped stone falling from roof of working place

Cunningham, N., 09 Feb 1867, aged 67, Mason's Labourer, run over and crushed by waggons

Curl, Arthur, 29 Aug 1933, aged 57, Miner, Buried: Sunnybrow Cemetery

Davidson, Thomas, 28 Aug 1879, aged 38, Collier, fall of a large stone, he left his jud and went into an old bord when the fall took place without warning

Dodds, David, 16 Aug 1908, (accident: 29 Jul 1908), aged 45, Labourer, He had just finished his work on the coke ovens, and was pulling a tub back, when he slipped and the tub caught his knee. He did not complain at the time, nor report the injury, but he told the doctor three days later that he had hurt himself; he also told a fellow workman, though he did not tell his wife. He died on 16th August from erysipelas followed by gangrene, due no doubt to the accident he had received when at work

Dullard, John, 20 Nov 1858, aged 12, Driver, crushed by tub ; fell off shafts

Elliott, William, 13 May 1889, (accident: 06 Apr 1888), aged 29, Hewer, died from the effects of an accident caused by a fall of stone while at work, no inquest held

Emmerson, George, 10 Sep 1885, aged 22, Hewer, fall of a large stone from a slip at face of a broken jud

Ewens, Samuel, 15 Feb 1892, aged 45, Hewer, died from apoplexy while following his work in the pit [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Fairbridge, William, 14 Apr 1869, aged 25, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Fisher, James, 30 Sep 1864, aged 31, Deputy, killed by a fall of stone

Forster, William, 02 Mar 1870, aged 55, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: St. Stephen's Churchyard/Willington Cemetery

Gardner, Joseph, 06 Oct 1911, aged 16, Driver, his duty was to drive tubs of sand from a drift to the shaft bottom and to return with the empty tubs; there was no other traffic along this road and the work was not difficult; he was last seen alive by one of the men in the drift, and was at that time walking outbye behind a full tub and it is assumed that he overbalanced himself in climbing over the tub to get to the pony's reins, for when found, the front pair of wheels had passed over him and he was quite dead, Buried: St. Stephen's Churchyard/Willington Cemetery

Graham, George, 24 Sep 1860, aged 35, Hewer, crushed by tubs

Henderson, Robert Wilfred, 19 Jun 1940, aged 40, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Sunnybrow Cemetery

Henderson, William, 18 Jul 1876, aged 23, Putter, overpowered by a tub on the incline, when it ran back and crushed him between the tub and a prop

Herring, Robert, 18 Jun 1852, killed by a fall of stone [Inquest: 19 & 22 Jun 1852]

Heslop, J. T., 28 Dec 1915, aged 26, Beltman, died as the result of injuries received whilst pushing a tub

Hinds, Thomas, 08 Feb 1858, aged 14, Driver, crushed by tubs in inclined plane

Hopper, Thomas, 14 Jul 1873, aged 45, Platelayer, repairing railway - truck ran upon him

Jordan, John, 18 Mar 1895, (accident: 05 Nov 1894, 3:40 p.m., 6th hour of shift), aged 32, Hewer, died today from an injury to back caused by a fall of stone on the 5th of November last

Lumsden, John, 14 Sep 1880, aged 49, Deputy, although he had complained to his wife of being poorly during the night, a deputy called Lumsden has still gone to work at Sunnybrow Colliery; then, while carrying a compass, assisting in some surveying operations, he suddenly fell down; he died about 15 minutes after being taken to bank

McNamara, D., 18 Jun 1861, aged 14, Driver, crushed by tubs; fell off while driving

Potts, John, 23 Aug 1883, aged 29, Waggon Rider, was knocked down and run over by a truck while shunting in the coke yard [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident] [More information ...]

Price, Richard, 24 Sep 1853, aged 36, he was crushed to death by a large stone measuring 7 feet broad and 2 feet thick, his nephew found him lying under the stone

Riley, Martin, 03 Jun 1865, (accident: 13 Sep 1864), aged 23, Hewer, by winding rope breaking, descending shaft [More information ...]

Robinson, George, 05 Feb 1885, (accident: 04 Feb 1885), aged 59, Horse Drawer, run over by full waggons and severely crushed, he got his foot fast in a check rail and was thrown down

Ross, Samuel, 04 Apr 1861, aged 62, Hewer, fall of band stone

Scott, Samuel, 15 Oct 1853, aged 20, Bank Rider, he was bringing three coal-trucks up the incline from the Wear bridge, and riding on the foremost one. When he got to the top, he made a jump from the truck and slipped and fell in before it, and the wheels passed over his right leg which was much broken

Scott, William Birkett, 12 Oct 1906, aged 46, Hewer, When hewing in a bord, a "cauldron bottom" fell from the roof and killed him., Buried: St. Stephen's Churchyard/Willington Cemetery

Sedgewick, William, 08 Dec 1864, aged 10, [Not employed], Two or three boys were playing near the engine house at Willington Coll. Sunnybrow on Thursday 8 Dec. An iron sheave or drum revolved outside the building about three feet from the ground, and the chain which was drawn round it drew tubs of coal along. When the engine was standing the chain was slack. The boys had got hold of the chain "to get a ride", but when the engine started, one boy's fingers were "fast in the links of the chain and he was drawn up against the drum, and torn literally limb from limb." The victim, William Sedgewick, was about 10 years old and the son of a widow whose husband had been killed in the same colliery a few years ago

Sedgwick, William, 22 Jun 1859, aged 43, Stoneworker, killed by a fall of roof

Sewell, Richard, 17 Mar 1887, (accident: May 1884), aged 63, Horse Keeper, was struck by an engine set in the pit and was supposed to have died from the effects; no inquest held

Simpson, James, 23 Sep 1884, aged 22, Putter, fall of stone from between two slips in a siding

Smith, Alexander, 06 Oct 1914, aged 36, Hewer, Deceased was hewing coals at the face of a longwall working where the seam is 2 feet thick. He hewed to a slip in the roof running along the face and previously unexposed. This liberated an oval-shaped piece of stone which fell upon him from an uneven roll and killed him instantly. Two props set at either end of the long axis of the oval, 6 feet by 4 feet 6 inches, were reeled out.

Smith, William, 09 Oct 1866, aged 29, Deputy, fall of stone while drawing timber

Southern, James, 02 Oct 1868, aged 13, Landing Boy, he received a blow on the head from the handle of a winch while changing ropes

Storey, Martin, 23 Jun 1895, 7:00 a.m., 1st hour of shift, aged 56, Hewer, died in his working place today from natural causes [fatality reported during the year but not classified as a reportable accident]

Stout, James, 23 Jun 1869, aged 34, Deputy, run over by set on engine plane

Taylor, W. E., 29 Aug 1905, aged 17, Pony Putter, fall of fireclay in face; when breaking a stone the hewer's wedge flew into the face; the boy went to fetch it when top suddenly fell from a slip and killed him [More information ...]

Thompson, Luke, 05 Apr 1854, (accident: 30 Mar 1854), aged 31, Bankrider, he was riding up the incline of the colliery railway and the waggons got off the way, when he was thrown off and run over

Waddle, Samuel, 06 Apr 1852, Deputy, killed by a fall of stone [More information ...]

Waddle, Samuel, 06 May 1852, aged 52, Deputy Overman, a large piece of blue stone fell from the roof and hit him on the back and knocked him down ; he was extricated with some difficulty, and was found to be much injured on his back and shoulders ; he died the same day

Walker, William, 26 Apr 1912, (accident: 29 Sep 1911), aged 53, Hewer, he was walking outbye at the end of his shift along an endless rope haulage road, when he slipped down and was caught in some way by the tubs, receiving injuries to his spine; he died on April 26; the doctor stated at the inquest that the cause of death was congestion of the lungs and heart failure, the result of the condition brought about by the injuries and the jury returned their verdict accordingly

Webster, George, 02 Jan 1867, aged 11, Screen Boy, killed by the exploding of a boiler [More information ...]

Wiley, William, 08 Jan 1872, aged 43, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Young, George, 02 Jan 1867, aged 17, Screenman, killed by the exploding of a boiler [More information ...]