1887

January

In January 1887 the Inquest on the fatal accident at Denaby reaches it’s conclusion
The drawn out sentence is imposed for the Pit Pony Cruelty by a 12 year old, who suffered imprisonment and a heavy fine
Compare this with the fine for Aggrevated Assault by a Denaby Glass Blower on his wife
There’s another serious accident at Denaby Main and fines for taking matches and a pipe down the pit
The Conisborough railwaymen have their Christmas supper and the Station is broken into
A woman goes to prison for stealing a rug and a typhoid epidemic prevails in the neighbourhood

access to stories

February

In February 1887 there was detail of the Typhoid outbreaks which began in Denaby and was epedemic in Mexborough.
There’s news of a Book swindler who has 560 names of people paid in Doncaster and District.
The Institute elects its officials, a man is drunk on the Railway lines and there’s a serious Stack fire at the Colliery

access to stories

March

In March 1887 there were 5 cases of cruelty to pit ponises heard in one court session followed by an even more barbaric one at the end of the month
Another miner met his death as three of his colleages failed to see him and the Colliery engine ran over him
The “Times” provided full details of the inquest and the “Independent” a short graphic version of the events
There was a convoluted case about theft of tools with the collieries records being put under question
and a Denaby miner gets 6 months in prison after drunken behaviour and assaulting the police

access to stories

April

In April 1887 we read about the expanding confectionary establishment of Bosdin J Clarkson, in the hollow to the South of the Castle
There’s an Account of a Demonstration by the Templar’s temperance movement
and a man served a jug of beer in Conisborough causes the Queen’s Bench to determine what a glass of beer is
Easter brings 30,000 visitors to Conisbrough with special excursion trains bringing them in
The Landlord of the Eagle and Child is involved in Assault Charges
An old man working at the Colliery gets knocked down with potentially fatal injuries
and Denaby Main lead the Yorkshire Coal producers again

access to stories

May

In May 1887 the townships were preparing for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria which was due to take place on June 20th 
Beacons were planned, children’s treats and Buckingham Pope was to pay all the expenses
There was a sensation on the railway as a suspected murderer, a Denaby Collier is transported to Doncaster
The acclaimed Rev Peter McKenzie speaks at Conisborough and we narrate his famous Ruth and her Relatives in full
The monthly Coal outputs from Hull again indicate the superiority Denaby Main had over the other collieries
and the Courts see cases of Gambling, damaging haystacks and the Traction Engine without  a man in front

access to stories

June

In June 1887 the villages were celebrating
the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, with feasts, processions, sports and bonfires
The was an explosion on the River Don on a boat loaded with paraffin
A Sad drowning and a man who jumped from his window at the Star
A marriage of Miss Tankard is described
and the Courts deal with an illegal lottery
as a man sell his songs from a Cart
At Denaby Main a 14 year old dies
after his pony appears to have gone too fast
and he is brought to the surface through the Cupola

access to stories

July

We have some fascinating stories from July 1887
There is a full report of a trip paid by the Conisborough Brass Band to Chatsworth and Edensor – in a dragonette ! And they play through the streets of Sheffield
A Parish Meeting which debated the need for a New Magistrate, the Water Question and Property Assessment – in a lively atmosphere
There was a flower service at Conisborough Church with the Canon of Doncaster giving a lengthy sermon to the children and explaining the importance of dew and William Cowper
 450 botanists invade Conisborough on a Sunday – after the Brass Band had awakened the village!
There’s a suicide of a Conisborough girl in Bradford and an attempted one by a 17 year old married girl
In the Courts Denaby poachers are brought to justice and three men who were ‘joking’ at Denaby Pit

access to stories

August

In August 1887 a Conisborough story hit the headlines throughout the country when a ‘jilted’ young woman ‘forbade the banns’ at the Parish Church after she followed her sweetheart to Conisborough and attempted suicide
And the story didn’t end there, for when the marriage took place the man was brought in from the fields in his work clothes and the vicar had to be recalled !
Then there was the story of the widowed mother at Denaby, who elopes, and afterwards her children are sent to the workhouse and she faces hard labour in prison
Meanwhile the locals were taking their vacations, with 1300 miners going to Liverpool and the Church on excursion to Scarborough
A man is fined after selling a pig when under swine fever restriction and there’s rabbit coursing and new works at the castle

access to stories

September

In September 1887, in St Leger Week, two trains came through Conisborough, one stopped, one went straight through
The Result was the Hexthorpe Rail Disaster in which 25 people were killed, and we include a detailed transcript of the inquests that were held
There is a narrow escape for miners at Denaby Main, when a cage is dashed to pieces
There’s a fashionable wedding at Denaby Main and new Ministers at the Wesleyan Chapel
Denaby miner’s do a ‘moonlight flit’ at Mexborough and there’s a distressing suicide of an old man from Conisborough
A tramp steals a shirt and a collier is in court for ‘mushrooming.’

access to stories

October

In October 1887 we learn of more mining accidents, of two brothers buried beneath a roof fall, with one dead and another critically injured and other incidents of sudden death and fatalities
The first Ambulance class is held in Denaby Main, and Colliery Officials attend a demonstration of a new explosive
Echoes of Evictions as Mr Leslie welcomed back
A pig gains a stone and a half (9.5 kilos)- In a week ! Through Colley’s Pig Powders
There’s an accident involving three carriages and two more suicide cases
The story of the policeman and the bans rumbles on as the man and his former lover disappear
Conisborough Castle restoration work is carried out and Mexborough knock the Castle lads out of the Cup

access to stories

November

In November 1887 differences between current day standards and then
were apparent with the prosecution of the Lodger who ‘assaulted’ his landlady – in a ‘singular love affair’
There’s a case of a wholesale robbery of missing bottles, involving a ‘gang’ of young pony drivers
The theft of 4 cabbages, sale of goat sausages,
library action to prevent smallpox and scarlet fever and a runaway horse are among the stories from the month
and the first revelation of the discovery of iron ore in Conisborough

access to stories

December

With the end of 1887 came a major disaster as early on Christmas morning  the villagers were wakened to the news that the Denaby Main pit was on fire
The fire began in the hydraulic engine shed and spread so rapidly that the block of buildings it was in was consumed
A group of workers underground were trapped and eventually brought to safety
When the fire was brought under control the damage was estimated at between £20,000 and £30,000
The aftermath was that 1,500 men had been thrown out of work until the colliery was rebuilt
In other news during the month a women is sued after throwing a bowl of water over quarrelsome neighbours,
there was a serious Stack fire at Conisborough and another accident at the pit

access to stories