Mainsforth Colliery

1877 - Mine abandoned and used as a rubbish dump

1900 - Shafts re-excavated and water removed from the workings

1910 - First coal drawn

1929 - Pit head baths opened

1936 - Shafts from Bishop Middleham Colliery used for riding men and materials

1960 - Brockwell ('S') seam abandoned

1963, Aug 30 - Explosion due to lightning strike, no injuries (pit on holiday)

1964 - Bottom Hutton ('L2'), Harvey ('N'), Main Coal or Yard ('G') seams abandoned

1968, Sep - Low Main seam flooded with water

1969 - Top Busty ('Q1'), Bottom Busty ('Q2') seams abandoned

Avery, Thomas, 07 Jun 1946, aged 22, Waggonway Man, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Bainbridge, Roger, 29 Nov 1916, aged 42, stuck on the head by a prop displaced by a fall of roof after a shot had been fired

Bell, John Richard, 04 Feb 1941, aged 27, Colliery Mechanic, he was crushed between full trucks under the screens and died in the ambulance on his was to hospital; he and another man had gone to the bottom end of the screens for some coals; they passed between two staionary trucks, but as they retauned Bell was nipped by the buffers when the trucks moved; he suffered severe internal injuries

Bell, Robert, 22 Jul 1887, [Not Employed - Railway Fireman], committed suicide by throwing himself down the shaft [More information ...]

Berriman, J., 30 Aug 1937, aged 22, Putter, strain lifting tubs

Billingham, Walter, 1943, aged 36, gassed [approximate date & age]

Bland, John, 07 Mar 1933, (accident: 06 Mar 1933), aged 15, Driver, caught by tubs, Buried: York Road Cemetery, Spennymoor [More information ...]

Brown, David, 24 Feb 1926, (accident: 12 Apr 1924), aged 19, Driver, through slipping whilst lifting a tub

Bryce, Arthur, 30 Dec 1931, aged 14, Screen Lad, caught in machinery, Buried: Chilton Cemetery

Butterfield, N., 13 Nov 1942, aged 50, Stoneman, caught by tubs

Byrne, John, 15 Jul 1908, aged 14, Helper up, it is not quite evident what occurred in this case; he was either walking outbye in front of the pony and fell down and was run over, or he was crouching by the side of the road to allow the pony and tub pass him, and was there caught and carried along by the tub

Carr, Henry Edward, 12 Dec 1913, aged 36, Stoneman, deceased and his mate had to prepare for a headways gate to be turned off a bordways gate, in a seam 3 feet thick, and in which height was made by shooting up bottom; they had to get hold of four balks by a crossing balk; the props carrying the crossing balk were set up on the canch; the job was completed and only the temporary middle props had to be drawn; this was done, and in less than a minute the timbering collapsed, and let down a big fall of soft stone from the side of a 2 feet 6 inch fault; the prop under one end of the crossing balk had been set on stone shattered by shot firing; this gave way and the fatal accident, which obviously should not have occurred, followed

Clarkson, James, 19 Oct 1925, aged 27, Cutter, crushed, Buried: Rock Road Cemetery, Spennymoor [More information ...]

Coleman, Matthew, 28 Jan 1929, (accident: 25 Jan 1929), aged 38, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: St. Charles (RC) Churchyard, Tudhoe Village

Conroy, Mark, 09 Sep 1930, aged 19, Putter, run over by tubs, brother of Michael who had been killed in the same pit a week earlier

Conroy, Michael, 02 Sep 1930, aged 55, Hewer, fall of coal, brother of Mark who was killed in the same pit a week later

Cowen, H., 12 Oct 1929, (accident: 20 Jul 1929), aged 42, Banksman, crushed

Crosby, R., 25 Sep 1937, (accident: 24 Sep 1937), aged 17, Banksman, crushed by engine

Davison, R., 01 Aug 1934, aged 57, Drawer, killed by a fall of stone

Dixon, Henry, 26 Sep 1910, aged 29, Hewer, Being the first day of the quarter it was his first shift in the wide bord in which he was working. The total thickness of the seam was 8 feet including a stone band 2 feet 8 inches in the middle. A shot had been fired in the top coal about 2½ hours before the accident and had failed to bring down all the coal, so after hewing as much down as he could, he set a prop under the remainder and commenced to kirve in the bottom coal. While so engaged some coal fell away at a strongly marked "back" and canted out a prop set under the band, thereby causing the latter to fall on the deceased. It was not certain if there was only one jud prop set, but there should have been two, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Dobson, John George, 12 Oct 1923, aged 16, Driver, crushed by wagon, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Dunn, N., 20 Jan 1931, aged 16, Landing Lad, crushed by tubs

Farnaby, James, 21 May 1941, (accident: 26 Mar 1941), aged 33, Filler, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Flatman, Norman, 07 Feb 1950, aged 46, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Fox, W. A., 10 Apr 1931, aged 17, Datal, caught by rope

Graham, William, 12 Oct 1921, aged 65, Under-manager, he was coming out of a drift in the Busty seam when he was struck by a runaway set

Grainger, Ernest, 06 Nov 1923, aged 18, Datal, run over, Buried: Rock Road Cemetery, Spennymoor

Gray, Ralph, 17 Mar 1911, aged 54, Hewer, the deceased and his marrow had just gone into their working place, a skirting 5 yards wide, having relieved the fore shift hewers; before either of them commenced to work a stone at the "fast" side of the working fell away between a slip and a small hitch running nearly parallel to it, and killed Gray; the stone fell from a greasy parting and knocked out a prop at the end of a pair of gears 4½ feet from the face; the distance fixed by the timbering rule was 3 feet, and had been reduced from 4½ feet a few months previously; if the fore shift hewers had carried out this rule before leaving the face the accident would very probably not have occurred

Heathwaite, Ralph Kell, 06 Jun 1952, aged 43, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Hedley, Billy, 16 Dec 1964, aged 17, riding haul rope, Buried: Chilton Cemetery

Heslington, Jack, 23 Aug 1920, (accident: 13 Aug 1920), aged 17, Off take lad, caught by winch handle [More information ...]

Higgins, Wilfred L., 20 Sep 1909, aged 17, Endless rope attendant, The rope was slipping through the forks on the tubs, so he put his weight on to the rope to press it down into the forks; the tubs were then hauled forward by the rope and he followed them up a kip, still pressing on the rope, to where an arrangement for lifting the rope out of the forks was placed. He kept hold of the rope too long and his head was caught between the rope and the arrangement for detaching it from the forks. Weighing on the rope as this boy was doing is an undesirable practice

Hopps, Ernest, 04 Nov 1934, (accident: 03 Nov 1934), aged 20, Ropeman, died from injuries received, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill [More information ...]

Horsley, James, 21 Feb 1874, aged 24, Labourer, scalded by steam whilst inside a boiler

Hudson, William (Pat), 01 Aug 1940, aged 34, Buried: Holy Trinity Churchyard, Cornforth

Hughes, A., 22 Feb 1934, aged 17, Driver, crushed

Hughes, Richard, 01 Jun 1938, aged 24, Buried: Rock Road Cemetery, Spennymoor

Illingworth, W., 18 Aug 1936, (accident: 07 Feb 1935), aged 44, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Jackson, John, 31 Oct 1903, aged 73, Master Sinker, he had been at work and was making his way home for breakfast when he suddenly became ill and died on the roadside; death was due to heart failure

Johnson, John George, 29 Aug 1944, aged 42, Buried: Holy Trinity Churchyard, Cornforth

Jones, John, 22 Jul 1919, (accident: 19 Nov 1918), aged 39, he was injured on 19th November 1918, at the inquest a verdict of "death from valvular disease of the heart by accidental injuries to the right foot by a fall of stone". His father (also called John) was killed at Thrislington Colliery in 1908, Buried: Holy Trinity Churchyard, Cornforth

Joyce, Jacob, 04 Jul 1916, (accident: 27 Jun 1916), Hewer, injured by picks [More information ...]

Joyce, John William, 09 Jan 1934, aged 37, Stoneman, he was waiting to go down the shaft at Bishop Middleham Colliery (the two pits were connected underground) when he suddenly collapsed and fell forward, despite efforts to revive him he was found to be dead

Joyce, Joseph, 14 Mar 1935, aged 20, Putter, struck roof, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill [More information ...]

Kirkby, Thomas William, 08 Jun 1932, aged 50, Stone Packer, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Chilton Cemetery

Kirton, William, Jul 1909, (accident: 09 Apr 1908), Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone [More information ...]

Lambert, John, 1952, aged 20, (date and age approximate), lived at East Howle

Lavelle, Thomas, 10 Mar 1933, aged 47, Machine Man, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Chilton Cemetery

Lawson, R. T., 15 Sep 1943, aged 34, Cutter, fractured skull

Lee, Frederick, 24 Apr 1917, aged 30, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Loftus, Edward, 17 Nov 1925, aged 14, Trapper, accident whilst driving set of tubs

Marshall, H. W., 23 Mar 1929, aged 26, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone

Martin, Walter Lock, 21 Sep 1938, aged 33, Filler, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Byers Green, Churchyard of St. Peter the Apostle

Mason, E., 06 Feb 1945, (accident: 24 Jul 1944), Filler, killed by a fall of stone

Mason, J. M., 23 Feb 1942, aged 47, Cutter, killed by a fall of stone

Mathews, Norman, 15 Dec 1921, aged 16, Datal, crushed by tubs

Miller, A., 14 Aug 1946, aged 23, Filler, killed by a fall of stone

Mudd, Herbert, 21 Jan 1935, aged 52, he collapsed and died at work; he had just left the district where he was working to obtain some powder and as he was coming back he ws heard to fall

Nunn, Philip, 08 Sep 1941, aged 61, Shifter, death was caused by 'over exertion' whilst working underground in the Busty seam

Oyston, R., 29 Feb 1940, aged 14, Datal, caught by waggon

Palmer, Arthur, 27 May 1931, aged 26, Filler, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Parker, J., 20 Jun 1944, aged 31, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Paul, J. W., 06 Mar 1937, (accident: 16 Feb 1936), aged 35, Hewer, died from injuries received

Penwick, W. D., 28 Aug 1929, (accident: 16 Aug 1929), aged 20, Putter, died from injuries received

Raisbeck, Thomas, 03 Sep 1912, aged 24, Hewer, he was engaged with his father in driving a jenkin by the side of an old bord; there is a treacherous band of metal about 2 feet thick halfway up the face of the coal, and this band is a source of great trouble in broken work; deceased was hewing, when a piece of the band came over from the face and struck his side; the unfortunate man did not think that he was seriously injured, but he died a few hours later

Richards, George, 21 May 1926, (accident: 19 Sep 1908), aged 38, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone

Seymour, Norman, 24 Jul 1941, aged 30, Hewer, killed by a fall of stone

Sharp, Harold, 25 Jun 1913, aged 15, Token Lad, deceased was employed taking tokens off tubs after they had passed through a tippler; there was ample room where he worked; it is surmised that he had dropped a token and whilst stooping to pick it up was struck on the head by a tub

Slater, William Taylorson, 03 Aug 1921, aged 16, Windlass Boy, caught between tubs and the side, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Snaith, John Ord, 16 Oct 1940, (accident: 15 Oct 1940), aged 58, he was found lying beside the wagon track in the pit, his head was cut and his lamp lay a few feet away in the mud; it was thought he had been struck by a set which had passed through the area five hours earlier; he died the next day in Durham County Hospital from verebral haemorrhage

Taylor, Robert, 18 Oct 1956, aged 38, Buried: Rock Road Cemetery, Spennymoor

Todhunter, William Henry, 13 May 1908, aged 33, Stoneman, he was killed by a big side waver which came off at a slip at a hitch; the fall knocked out a chock, and canted out some baulks, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Troup, M., 22 Jan 1937, (accident: 27 May 1936), aged 59, Hewer, explosion

Vasey, Jonathan, 28 Sep 1907, aged 16, Driver, when driving outbye the first tub of his set up-ended and he was fatally crushed between it and his pony

Walter, Thomas Henry, 11 Jul 1923, aged 29, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone

Ward, W., 03 Jan 1933, aged 31, Hewer, killed by a fall of roof

Watson, William Kipling, 02 Jun 1924, aged 31, Cutter, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

White, A., 08 Jul 1942, aged 65, Wasteman

Williams, John, 21 Aug 1924, aged 50, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Wilson, George Albert, 22 Mar 1928, aged 52, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone, Buried: Chilton Cemetery

Wilson, Walter M., 20 Jul 1923, aged 21, Hewer, fall, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Winter, Ralph, 16 Dec 1933, (accident: 07 Dec 1933), aged 16, Driver, fractured spine, Buried: Rock Road Cemetery, Spennymoor

Wood, B., 07 May 1947, aged 43, Stoneman, killed by a fall of stone

Young, Edward, 30 Jun 1917, aged 31, Buried: Duncombe Cemetery, Ferryhill

Young, George William, 16 Oct 1942, aged 53, Winding Engine Cleaner, he had started to whitewash the crank pit during a lull in coal drawing, later, William Oyston was given a signal to draw more coal and shouted to Young to make sure he was clear of the pit; He heard a bump, stopped the engine and then found him lying in a pool of blood; Young's body was recovered from between the side of the rope drum and the engine pillars