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Full Details

Surname
ROBSON
Forename
William
Day
20
Month
05
Year
1905
Age
22
Occupation
Joiner
Mine/Quarry Name
Chopwell
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Consett Iron Co. Ltd
Location
Chopwell
County
Durham
Details of Event
The upcast shaft was being fitted with wire rope guides, and the first guide, consisting of 80 fathoms of rope, l.25 inch in diameter, had been attached to one of the winding ropes, wound on the drum and then lowered into the shaft over one of the pulley wheels. Deceased was standing on a platform of the headgear to which the bell of the detaching hook was fixed. The guide rope was fastened to the winding rope by a 3-8 inch lashing chain, one end of which was fastened to the socket of the winding rope, and the chain then attached to the guide rope by seven half hitches. The rope hole in the engine-house wall was built up too high and the guide rope moved over the brickwork. All went well until the chain reached this wall, when it was telescoped down the guide rope, which became free, and the end, flying over the pulley wheel, struck deceased on the head, killing him instantly. The rope did not go down the pit, but jammed itself in the headgear. The Jury added to their verdict of accidental death a rider that in future lifting clamps on the chain should he used as an additional security. The Local Inspectors reported ‘In our opinion it is a pure accident.'