Chell Colliery Acc.1860
Researched by John Lumsdon
An accident occurred on Thursday morning at the Chell colliery near Tunstall, belonging to Mr. R. Beswick., The names of the deceased are James Foster and Thomas Foster, of Brownedge, father and son and John Hancock of Ridgway. It seems that about one o clock on Thursday morning the deceased got into a corfe (receptacle) for the purpose of being lowered down the shaft, which is 45 yards deep, but had not descended, as the banksman said more the 5 or 6 yards when the hempen flat rope broke, and the poor fellows were hurled to the bottom, a portion of the rope falling upon them. James Barlow, the engine tender and another man were soon as possible lowered down another shaft on the works from which there is a communication to the one where the accident occurred with a view of rendering the persons assistance if required.
Unfortunately all 3 were found to be quite dead and the bodies more or less mutilated. A fresh rope being procured, the bodies of the men were drawn up about four-o-clock and conveyed to their respective homes.
In the evening an inquest was held before Mr. Harding, coroner, at Mr. Wynne, the Government Inspector was present. Amongst the witnesses examined was Mr. Beswick, the proprietor, who stated that he had given an order for a new rope for the shaft in which the accident occurred and received an invoice of it on the 11th Feb which was dated the 10th. He was at Longport railway station shortly afterwards but got no intimation that the rope had arrived. On inquiry this Thursday morning at the station, he was informed that, no rope had arrived and he went away but in about 5 minutes afterwards the porter at the package Dept came after him and said; “we have a rope for you and had two or three days”. He requested the rope to be sent up immediately and gave the porters at the luggage station to understand that for the want of it 3 men had been killed.
In his evidence
Mr. Wynne stated that on examining he did not find it a hard worn rope, he considered the cause of the rope breaking, was that the drum was too small, being only five feet whereas it ought to have been five times as large. It appeared from the evidence of another witness that the rope had broken at a place where it had been capped in consequence of it being frayed and that there was another defect in it.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death. James Foster was married man and had a large family, but the other two were young single men.