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Full Details

Surname
MIDDLETON
Forename
George
Day
15
Month
05
Year
1904
Age
11
Occupation
Schoolboy
Mine/Quarry Name
Montreal
Mineral Worked
Iron Ore
Owner
John Stirling
Location
Moor Row
County
Cumberland
Details of Event
No.11 Pit, Montreal Mines, was abandoned 14 years ago. The pit is rectangular in section and about 90 fathoms deep. Its upper part is in Coal Measures and at about 68 fathoms from the surface crosses a large fault into Carboniferous Limestone carrying iron ore. Several landings had been in use. It was fenced round by a wood paling 5 feet high, covering an area of 30 feet by 35 feet. Inside the paling a double layer of 3-inch planks were nailed over the top of the shaft. The plank's of the upper layer were sound but those of the lower layer were rotten. Some time prior to May 15 one of the upper planks had been torn off. Deceased and other boys on a Sunday evening climbed over the paling in search of birds' nests and deceased stepped on the exposed underplank and it gave way and he fell into the shaft. An alarm was raised and the manager descended the adjacent No.10 shaft and was able by an old crosscut, to reach No.11 shaft at the 70 fathom level and found it blocked by debris. The crosscut at 60 fathoms had collapsed and the shaft could not be reached by it. Machinery was erected at No.11 shaft and at considerable risk a descent was made to 38 fathoms but no trace of the body observed. A new crosscut was driven from a convenient point in an adjacent mine to about the 60-fathom level and it was found that the shaft was blocked higher up further attempts were then made to descend the shaft from the surface but the work was so dangerous that it was eventually decided to abandon the attempt to recover the body and on June 22 the burial surface was read over the top of the shaft.