Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

20th February 1908

Colliery Prosecution At Whitehaven

Entering A Disued Working

At the Whitehaven Police-court, on Thursday, before J. Dickinson (chairman), S. L. Burns-Lindow, H. Kitchin, W. Hastwell (the Mayor), J. Smith, and T. H. Rymer, Esqs., and the Rev. W. G. C. Hodgson, Jeffery Hall (45), coal hewer, Parton, was charged by Samuel Turner, colliery manager, Sea View, Whitehaven, with going beyond a certain fence erected in William Pit, Whitehaven, on January 27th.

Mr. W. H. Chapman prosecuted. He said the rules stated that workmen must not go beyond a meeting station, or a fence which applied to this case or recognised signal in any part of the mine except where he was employed. The defendant went through a fence into a disused working for this gear, after being warned the he must not do so.

Samuel Turner, the colliery manager, produced a copy of the special rules in use at William Pit.

John Martin, shiftsman, said on January 27th he went down William Pit a little before seven o'clock, and about seven o'clock met the defendant at the entrance to his old working in which he had been engaged the week previous. Since then the working had been fenced off and disused on account of gas, which rendered it unsafe. Defendant said he was looking for his gear, and witness told him not to go through the fence for it until he got another authority. Witness sent the defendant's mate for the deputy at the request of Hall.

John Graham, deputy, said on the 27th ult., he told the defendant where his new working place was. About twenty minutes later the defendant's mate, Moody, came and asked witness to get some gear out of their old working place, which had been fenced off. Witness went through the fence, and met the defendant coming out with his gear over his shoulder. He spoke to Hall, who said he did not know he had done wrong, and if he had he was sorry.

Defendant, who had nothing to say, was fined 40s or a month's imprisonment, the Chairman remarking that this was a very serious offence.

Newspaper transcript kindly provided by
West Cumbria Mines Research.