The Fatal Accident At Denaby Main Colliery

December 1886

Mexborough & Swinton Times December 31, 1886

The Fatal Accident At Denaby Main Colliery.
The Enquiry Adjourned.

On Monday, a miner named Ed. Wigley, employed at the Denaby Main Colliery in excavating and building arches to keep out the fire which is smouldering in the pit, met with his death in a peculiarly distressing manner. Whilst engaged with two other men, the stuff broke away from the bars, and crushed the poor fellow badly, his companions who were only four yards away escaping unhurt. He managed to extricate himself from the fallen debris, and directly he got clear another fall took place in the same spot. Wigley staggered and fell, and was assisted out of the pit and taken home, where he died on the following morning, the accident having taken place about four o’clock on the previous afternoon. Deceased leaves a widow and five children who will be in receipt of relief from the West Riding Permanent Relief Fund.

The inquest on deceased took place yesterday at Denaby, in the Reresby Arms, before Mr. Dossy Wightman and a jury of whom Mr. Mountford was foreman. There were also present on behalf of the colliery company Mr. W. H. Chambers, manager, and Mr. Gascoyne.

The first witness called was Caroline Wigley, living at Doncaster Road, Denaby, who said deceased was her husband and was 37 years of age. He was a native of Staffordshire. They had been at Denaby three months, but had been in Normanton two years. He was a miner, and was brought home injured on the 27th Dec.’ by two men, at four o’clock in the afternoon. His injuries were at the back of the head, the shoulders, and the back. He told witness that a fall of stuff had taken place from the top of the roof in the pit. There was a surgeon to him , Dr. Sykes, of Mexboro’, who attended him twice. The assistant came the next morning, but deceased was then dead. He died at six o’clock. He did not accuse anyone. He did not mention gas. He merely said it was a fall of stuff.

A deputy named Rogers said he was with the deceased when the fall took place. It ‘sluthered’ off the top of a bar. There was no gas liberated by the fall. They had noticed some heat before the fall, and they were trying to do something. They were about four yards away from deceased when the accident happened.

The Coroner: Tell the jurymen what you mean by heat.

Witness: Heat from the fire; chiefly upon the roof.

The Coroner: What then?

Witness: Heat from the fire.

The Coroner: From the fire? How long had it been there?

Witness: I don’t know, sir.

At this stage of the proceedings, the Coroner said he had finished so far as he was concerned that day. The Inspector was unable to attend and conclude what it was that led to the man’s death whether it was heat, fire, gas, or anything else. He should therefore adjourn the inquiry until that day week at two o’clock. It was arranged that the adjourned inquest be held at the Masons’ Arms, Doncaster Road, Mexboro.

It is a singular circumstances that just previous to the explosion at Altofts some time ago, by which so many miners lost their lives, deceased had left the workings, and escaped unhurt. It was on the stoppage of work at that colliery that he came to Denaby.