Descent into Silence: Cawthorne’s forgotten tragedy

No-one gave a second’s thought to the victims of a mining disaster near the small Yorkshire village of Cawthorne in 1821, even though two were children of just eight-years-old. Former MP David Hinchliffe’s exploration of his family history inadvertently led to the discovery of his collier ancestors’ involvement in the barely recorded and long-forgotten pit tragedy, which occurred amidst of the turbulence of the industrial revolution.The exploration of these two intertwined strands - and a passionate interest in local history in Yorkshire - has enabled him finally to reveal the full details of a melancholy event which devastated the families of the ten who were killed - but caused barely a ripple further afield. Using contemporary reports to help piece the jigsaw together, historical context and detailed genealogical research into the backgrounds of those involved, this account offers a fascinating insight into the lives of working class families across the period, when children as young as five were forced to work underground in order to supplement the household income. The research also illustrates how the split between the businessmen operating local pits, and landowners like the Spencer-Stanhopes of Cawthorne’s Cannon Hall, led to an apparent disregard for the safety and wellbeing of the local workforce. The unforgiving inhumanity of the time is underlined by the way the local ‘Overseers of the Poor’ endeavoured to eject two of the victims’ families from the area when they had fallen on hard times after the disaster. And, most ironically of all, how the lauded death of Sir Walter Spencer- Stanhope is recorded in the parish register directly opposite that of the young and until now unheralded John Hinchliffe.