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	Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	15th March 1841
Colliery:	Cowpen, North Pit
Company:
Cause:	Fell down shaft
Lives Lost:	4
Category:

A melancholy accident occurred at Cowpen colliery, north pit, on Monday, the 15th March, 1841, by which four men lost their lives. The pit had not been worked for about twelve years, the machine having then been burnt, and the pit laid off in consequence; but the colliery having been taken by new lessees, preparations were making to work it again. A new engine and engine-house had been erected, and the workmen were employed in walling the shaft, and the pitmen and sinkers in clearing away the old materials. This work was in progress at the time of the accident; and the shaft was walled to within seven feet of the top. At about 1 pm, the masons quitted the cradle, or hanging stage, and were replaced by their assistants, who began to clear the sides of the shaft for another course of stones. While thus employed, the old materials suddenly came away in a body; and so large and heavy a mass of wood and rubbish, falling upon the cradle, forced it downward. The cradle, was connected with a sort of gin or capstan to raise or lower it — a "crab" as the pitmen call it — which in the ordinary progress of the works, was prevented from "running off" by a pall or cow. But this check was broken by the sudden jerk which followed the fall of the materials, and the crab ran backwards with great velocity — the cradle, at the same time rapidly lowering, till it fell upon the "brattish" — a partition dividing the shaft into two parts. There were five persons on the cradle; four of whom were precipitated to the bottom of the shaft, and (no doubt) killed. The fifth to his astonishment escaped. He had seized the sling in his descent; and after the cradle was smashed on the brattish, he found himself lying on a portion of the wreck, in imminent peril of falling. He cried aloud for help, and a rope was lowered; to which he attached himself, and was rescued. The sufferers were :— 1. Joseph Wright, aged 37 on the day of the accident. He left a wife and three children. 2. Francis Reay, who left a wife and five children. 3. James Reay, who left a wife and six children. 4. Stephen Heron, unmarried. William Heron, the rescued pitman, was the brother of Stephen, and had a wife and young family. He was wounded by the falling materials, but not seriously. The bodies were not recovered until the following Thursday evening. From the first there were no hopes of the men being recovered alive, and it was necessary to secure the shaft properly, before any person could descend with safety. An accident, attended with so great a loss of human life, never having occurred at this colliery on any previous occasion, the event made a peculiarly deep impression on the workmen and the public ; and the funeral, which took place on Saturday the 20th, was attended by hundreds of the inhabitants.

Source:

Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences Connected with the Counties of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham by M.A. Richardson. Published in five volumes in 1844.

	Herron, Stephen, aged 30, Shaft Man, killed whilst repairing the shaft, unmarried, Buried: Churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, Horton
	Reay, Francis, aged 32, Master Sinker, killed whilst repairing the shaft, left a wife and five children
	Reay, James, aged 38, Shaft Man, killed whilst repairing the shaft, left a wife and six children
	Wright, Joseph, aged 37, Shaft Man, killed whilst repairing the shaft, left a wife and three children
	All names found
	Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

 

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