Hello,
According to the transcript of the inquest into the death of Richard Whittingon in a colliery accident in April 1875, he was ‘Crushed by the fall of a bell in the Trafalgar Colliery’.
Does anyone know what sort of bell would have been able to cause his death by crushing him?
Lesley

A bell of rock.

Bell. A smooth sided large stone, shaped like a bell, which could fall from the roof without warning.

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Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>

Coal as you know is fosilised wood. A bell is a complete fosilised tree trunk that falls from the roof of the pit in one lump, this leaves a bell shape hole in the roof. A good many colliers lost thier lives to them.

Andy

Many thanks for your help Andrew and Slowhands. That makes sense.
I know that in Somerset they had bell pits in the early mining days so I looked up bell pit in Wikipedia:
"A bell pit is a primitive method of mining coal where the coal lies near the surface on flat land. A shaft is sunk to reach the coal which is then excavated by miners transported in by means of a winch and removed by means of a bucket (much like a well). It gets its name because in cross section it resembles a bell."
I do not know whether bell pits were in evidence in the Forest of Dean, but even if they were I couldn't see how that could have contributed to Richard's death.
Lesley

Today I met up with my friend whose father was killed by 'a bell' in the Welsh mine pits, and confirmed it was a stone, that left a pear shaped hole in the roof of the mine.