FAR GREEN. Hanley, Staffordshire. 5th. November, 1859.

The colliery was the property of Lord Granville and was also known as the Deep Pit. Ten people were killed when the cage was pulled over the pulley of the headgear. The pit was sixty-three feet from the handle of the engine and the height of the axle wheel was 39 feet off the ground. The last stroke of the engine raised the cage 50 feet.

Sixteen men and boys were coming up the pit at 2 p.m. and the engineman was at his post. The door of the engine house was fastened but the window which looked out onto the pit bank was open. At the time it was raining and the overlooker, Tellett called Williams, who was a timekeeper, to come to the window and give him his time. They had just sat down when one of them said to James Gallon the engineman, “Are we in your way?” Gallon leaned forward and said, “What did you say?”. He said this twice and during that time his attention moved from the indicators and the cage went over the pulley.

Some of the men went down the shaft and some fell onto the pit bank. The engine was at once stopped and there was no damage to it or the rope. There were two indicators at the pit and the Inspector Mr. Wynne considered it safe to ascend and descend.

Those who died were:

  • Edward Barton Knowles, aged 14 of Catfields.
  • Thomas Jones, aged 14 of Bucknall Road.
  • Henry Walklate, aged 22 of Crown Bank.
  • Eli Griffiths, aged 18 of Hanover Street.
  • Owen Williams, aged 11 of High Street.
  • William Vernall, aged 16 of North Street.
  • William Hughes, aged 14 of Bow Street.
  • William Beard, aged 11 of Cobridge.
  • Richard Yates, aged 17 of Catfields.
  • Thomas Bellas, aged 36 of Market Street.

The following were injured in the ascending cage:

  • Thomas Williams, thigh broken.
  • Enoch Lees, contused back & broken arm.
  • Thomas Leighton, severe injuries to the head.
  • George Rhodes, shaken.
  • Thomas Jones, shaken.
  • Arthur Cope, shaken.

The following were injured in the descending cage:

  • David Jones, shaken.
  • James Morris, contused back.
  • Thomas Price, legs hurt.
  • Joseph Northwood, legs hurt.
  • William Jones, shaken.
  • John Clark, ankle hurt.
  • William Lees, foot hurt.
  • John Edwards, legs and feet hurt.
  • Henry Cholton, foot hurt.
  • William Pierrepoint, shaken.
  • Henry Davis, shaken.
  • John Watkin, shaken.

In previous visits to the pit Mr. Wynne had seen the engine tenter, Peter Griffiths, operate the engine and he was satisfied that he had full control over it. The Inspector thought that no person could go into the engine house through the door unless he had a key. Gallon was convicted at Stafford Assizes and sentenced to six weeks imprisonment. The Inspector commented:

I trust this case will be a warning to all enginemen not to allow their attention to be drawn from the work they are employed upon.

He continued:

Since this accident, numerous inventions are about to be proposed and submitted, to endeavour to prevent overwinding, which I am about to bring to the notice of mining engineers, and which I trust will result in the adoption of some plan to prevent the recurrence of such calamities.

At the inquest the jury gave a verdict of manslaughter against James Gallon, the engine tenter, adding that they thought that the regulations with regard to the admission of persons into the engine room ought to be strictly enforced, and that in their opinion, the accident would not have happened if Tellit and Williams had not gone into the engine room.

A couple of witness testimonies that were heard at the inquest

George Rhodes, of Hope Street, Hanley, said – I am a driver at the Deep Pit. I was one of the party who came up in the cage that was drawn over the pulley I was in the top part. Enoch Lees. William Vernall. Henry Walklate and others were with me in the top cage. I don’t know how I escaped. I found myself between the wheels, and then I went down the gangway. The hooker-on knocked three times before we started to go up. The speed of the engine was never slackened as I could see.

Peter Griffiths, of Gravel Street, Hanley, said – I am an engine tenter at the Deep Pit. I worked the engine from 5 o’clock on Friday afternoon until a quarter past 7 on Saturday morning. I delivered the engine into the hands of James Gallon, and then went home. At half past 2 o’clock, after the accident, I was sent for to take charge of the engine. Gallon had been working at the engine about 7 or 8 months. The engine is a peculiar one. It is well constructed. As far as I know, when I gave the engine up to Gallon every thing was all right. The indicators and signals from the bottom were all right. Both the indicators have never been out of order at one time. We slacken about four strokes from the top. The indicator worked all right when I took the engine after the accident. It is all right now. I cannot suggest a better plan of indicating when men are coming to the surface. I consider the men are as safe as human ingenuity can make them. It takes a minute to bring up a cage of coal, and two minutes to bring up a cage of men.

 

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1859. Mr. Joseph Dickenson.
Staffordshire Advertiser 12 November 1859

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.

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