Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around Pontefract & Castleford by Keith Henson

Author:Keith Henson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: TRUE CRIME / General
ISBN: 9781783037773
Publisher: Wharncliffe
Published: 2004-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

The Golden Lion, Pontefract. Situated in the Sessions House Yard it did a roaring trade on court days. The author

Thomas Carr, with James Moxon’s backing, came back to the Sessions Court on Friday, 15 July to hear Judge Bedwell’s ruling. It was not to be a happy day.

The judge regretted to inform Carr that he would not be able to recover any compensation. He had thought the same at the earlier hearing, but had waited until he knew all the facts. In his learned opinion Tom Carr had contributed greatly towards his own death. Clearly, he said, Carr had neglected to fasten the bolts of the cage door when he sent it up. This conflicts with the evidence of Benjamin Speight, when he claimed to have checked the door and found it shut tight. Bedwell also decided that the fastenings had been in good order, this despite the Inspector of Mines having identified a problem. Furthermore, his honour thought it unlikely that the pony had kicked his way out. From the testimony of witnesses it seemed that it would not have had the time to do so. Much more likely, was that the pony had simply backed up and fallen through a poorly fastened door. He made no mention of the fact that the animal had been secured with a piece of rope not much thicker than a pencil. As to the matter of safety boards, the colliery could not be expected to provide such a facility capable of halting the fall of a pony and what’s more, it looked like Tom Carr had been stood further into the shaft than had been necessary.

Despite having already informed Thomas Carr that he could not claim compensation Judge Bedwell questioned how the figure of £156 had been arrived at. The lad earned six shillings a week; how could his father therefore claim what amounted to ten years wages when he could have, at best, only a year remaining of board and lodgings from his son.

Bedwell ruled that Tom Carr’s own gross carelessness had directly caused the accident and found in favour of the Wheldale Colliery Company.

In 1872, an act of Parliament made it law that managers of collieries should gain a certificate of competence. Sadly, many of them where wholly incapable of reaching the grade. Not until 1911 was the scheme enforced with any great success.

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