Four Parishes Coroners Inquests, 1761-1820

The Quarter Sessions were held every three months at Shrewsbury and dealt with less serious breaches of criminal law and enforced administration matters such as the Poor Laws and highway repairs. Additionally, reports of the coroners are included in the Quarter Session rolls. These have been abstracted and published; the originals are in Shropshire Archives.

On this page there are details of inquests into industrial accidents for the parishes of the Wyre Forest, Clee Hill and Brown Clee coalfields, together with a small number of other deaths and a number of highway and criminal cases, from 1761-1820. Most of the cases are taken from the published extracts, but where more detailed information is provided, the original record has been consulted. In these cases, the catalogue reference may be provided (eg QR 83/39).

In some inquests, where the jury could order the payment of "deodandum", based on the value of an object that had caused the fatal object. These are recorded.

1761 Repair of road between Stottesdon and Bridgnorth in Quatford and Stottesdon and Oldbury
1762 Joseph Cook, Highley, not keeping bridle road in good repair
1767 Repair of road between Chelmarsh to Shrewsbury
Oct 1767 True Bill against Sam Morris, collier, Much Wenlock, with 50 others unknown, for violent assembly with intent to proceed to Shrewsbury to rescue Richard Good, a prisoner concerned with others in pulling down a Stel House at Ludlow.
April 1771 Highley fined 20/- for not repairing the highway from Hay Gate to Borle Brook. Billingsley fined 20/- for not repairing the highway from Borle Brook to the house of George Cooper in Billingsley.
July 1771 John Jones fell into a marl pit in Heath Piece, Kings Nordley, Alveley and drowned
21st August 1772 John Tart killed in a pit in Lower Chorley when ¾ of a ton of coal fell on him QR 83/39
Oct 1773 Repair of road in Chelmarsh between Bridgnorth and Ludlow
April 1774 Man fell out of barge and drowned in Severn, Chelmarsh
Jan 1775 George Grove working in Button Bridge quarry, Button Bridge Common found with legs and head fractured, Kinlet; Wm Watkiss, sinking well at Middleton Priors, detected damp and asked to be pulled up, passed out and fell 14yds
April1775 Man fell out of barge and drowned in Severn, Highley
July 1775 Illegal fishing on Severn in Highley
July 1776 True Bill against Stottesdon for non-repair of highway leading to Oreton lime kilns from Stottesdon
Jan 1777 Two men cutting down and taking timber at Alveley
1778 John Wilcox, Alveley, convicted of using illegal net for fishing on the Severn at Potters Loade
April1778 Stottesdon, non-repair of roads, Bewdley-Ludlow and Bridgnorth-Ludlow
Jan 1778 Man coming out of coal pit, rope broke and he fell, Coreley
7th July 1778 Thomas Winwood coming up in skip from pit at Baveney Wood when the skip broke and he fell 20 yards, Neen Savage
July 1778 Man fell out of barge into Severn, Dowles
7th January 1780 Richard Powell, 14, was shoveling clover in Cleckars Mill, Alveley and was greasing the cogs between the cog wheel and the timber wheel when he was caught in the machinery. He died the next day.
Jan 1781 Woman going down in man’s arms to see a coal pit had a fit and fell out of his arms to bottom of the pit
April1781 Man cross-cutting a large oak, the butt rolled onto him and crushed him, Cleobury Mortimer; Man in barge went ashore to try and push it off as it had grounded, slipped into river, Kinlet
April1782 Man working in ironstone mine, stone fell and crushed him, Cainham
April1784 Man fell from top to bottom of coal pit, Hopton Wafers; Man working in quarry, stepped on stone that gave way and he fell from top to bottom and fractured his skull, Cleobury Mortimer
April1785 Man, greatly intoxicated in liquor, fell into a cut called new cut, Cleobury Mortimer
Oct 1785 Man coming out of pit, piece of cordwood fell and hit him on the head; Man fell out of barge into Severn, Highley; Boy, playing by pool, fell in, Kinlet
April1786 Man in coal pit, piece of coal fell out of skip onto his head, Bitterley
1786 Thomas Lowe died of an apopleptic fit in a barn, Highley QR 152/18
Jan 1787 No true presentment, Glazeley bridge
July 1787 Two women cutting and carrying away cordwood, property of Wm Childe, Stottesdon. 2l- in each case to the owner, 5l- to the overseers of Kinlet for the poor.
1st July 1787 Wm Small, at work in Tinker’s Hill Quarry, Cainham, when a quantity of stone on no value fell on him. QR/152/19
April1788 Boy playing in brewhouse, fell into tub of hot wort, Cleobury Mortimer; Man at work at top of coal pit, slipped and fell to the bottom, Cleobury Mortimer
Oct 1788 Man being wound down into stone pit, rope broke and let him down to the bottom and piece of wood attached to the rope fell onto his head, Cainham; Man going into Severn to pick up a shaft, drowned, Dowles.
April1789 Man working in a stone quarry, earth fell on him, Silvington
22nd June 1789 Edward Jones of Stottesdon was suffocated by damp at the bottom of a pit in Nicolls Lane QR 160/21
April1790 Man at work in coal pit, earth fell on him, Cainham
Oct 1790 Man digging in quarry, earth fell on him, Stanton Lacy
May 1791 Man fell from top to bottom of a coal pit, Bitterley; Man working in a paper mill, jammed between wheel and post, Deod (wheel), 5/-
April1792 Order Thos Knight and Chas Walcott for diversion of turnpike road between Cleobury Mortimer and Wall Town in Neen Savage and substitution of another course through the lands of Sir Walter Blount, Wm Childe, Edwin Corbyn and Messrs Bunett & Wheeler and another portion of the same, Cleobury and Mawley Town, with plan; Man working in coal pit, earth fell on him, Coreley; Man working in coal pit, earth fell on him, Cainham
Oct 1792 Man working in coal pit, earth fell on him, Bitterley; Man filling a net with hay at the head of a coal pit, slipped and fell to the bottom, Coreley; Man fell into coal pit and fractured skull, do.
Oct 1793 Man fell into pool, Dowles; man crossing brook on bridge, fell into water, Stottesdon; Man peeling bark in wood, killed by fall of oak, Stottesdon; Man sleeping near lime kiln suffocated by fumes, Clee St Margaret; Man digging earth near canal, some fell on him and suffocated him, Burford
April1794 Man drawn out of coal pit by 2 horses, drawn under brow and fell to bottom. Deod (horses), 2 guineas, Cainham; Man digging soil, some fell on him and suffocated him, Burford
18th Sept 1794 Wm Lloyd at work in Round Hill quarry, Cainham, when stone of no value fell on him QR180/66
Oct 1795 Man fell into Leominster Canal, Neen Sollars; Man working in coal pit, coal fell on him.
13th March 1796 Ed Millichap lay down to sleep near Bouldon Furnace in Holdgate, he was suffocated by the smoke from the furnace QR186/80
April1796 John Lloyd at work in lime quarry, stone fell on him, Stottesdon QR186/69
10th May 1796 John Turner killed in New Pit, Cainham by fall of coal worth 5/- QR188/50
12th May 1796 Ric Tolly at work in Chamberlain Quarry, Stottesdon, killed when stone blown in the air by powder landed on his head QR188/42
18th June 1796 Thos Hughes killed in Sough Pit Coreley by fall of coal of no value QR188/46
20th July 1796 Wm Charles killed at Birch Pit, Kinlet; struck on the back by stone and died the next day QR188/39
10th Sept 1796 Thos Elcock fell in Rotherham Pound, Stottesdon, by the Rea and was drowned QR188/47
Oct 1796 Man at work in coal pit, stone fell on him, Cleobury Mortimer;
April1797 Man getting coal in pit, soil fell on him, Cainham
6th Oct 1798 Edward Southall of Kinlet killed in Birch Pit by a fall of soil whilst he was moving it QR 194/55
Oct 1798 Man winding up skip of coal with a wire rope, rope broke and weight on the end fell on his head, Deod (weight) 2/-, Cleo North
Oct 1799 Man fell from barrel into coal pit and drowned in water, Coreley; Man suffocated by fixed air in coal pit, Cainham
July 1800 Conviction of miner at Coreley for keeping nets for game
Oct 1800 Man unhooking skip in iron quarry, stone fell on him, Cleo Mortimer
21st Nov1800 Henry Stokes, being employed to move soil by driving a footrid underground from the face of a lime rock called Trumpers, in Burford, crushed by fall of stone QR 206/102
8th April 1801 Robert Sheldon of Billingsley was loading a skip with wood at No 3 pit when the engine forced him into the pit, killing him. The engine was worth £30, the property of Messrs MacNab and Johnson, coal merchants. QR 206/109
11th April 1801 John Smith of Billingsley fell from the gallery of his house. QR 208/83
8th June 1801 Mary Roberts fell into a cellar in a house in Quatt Malvern belonging to John Thompson, QR 208/79
22nd June 1801 Sam Hyde at work in a limestone quarry in Burford when killed by a fall of stone QR208/82
18th July 1801 John Child at work in the Red Pit, Wheathill, when killed by a fall of soil of no value QR 208/74
April1802 Man working in coal pit, killed by brick falling down shaft, Cleobury Mortimer
Oct 1802 Man at work in coal pit, killed by noxious air, Hopton Wafers
1803 Thomas Walford of Kinlet killed by the horse of John Bluck of Catsley QR 218/27
13th August 1803 William Davies of Billingsley found dead in the Deserts Wood. QR 218/32
April1804 Man killed by loose brick falling down shaft Cleobury Mortimer. Another, same place. Thomas Pountney of Highley died in a stone quarry; visitation of God.
14th Dec 1804 George Sheffield, at work in Stanley Footrid, was suffocated by a fall of soil of no value, Highley. QR 222/82
April1805 Man working in coal pit, killed by fall of soil, Cainham; Boy at play with others passing a furnace on Clee Hill, an iron crank belonging to the furnace, moving by a current of water, struck him on the belly, Deod (crank) £2-10-0; man navigating barge at Highley, fell into river and drowned.
Oct 1805 Man standing on a wooden bridge in a coal pit fell off to the bottom of the pit, Bitterley; Man’s head stuck against a piece of timber at the side of a pit and was thown off the rope he was holding to the bottom of the pit, Deod (rope and horse drawing it) £5, Coreley
15th Nov 1805 Elizabeth Davies was “strikeing coal on the top of a certain coal pit commonly known by the name of number five” when she slipped and fell down the shaft. QR 226/41
April1806 Man slipped and fell into a certain wheel called a fly wheel, then and there going by force of water, was thrown out of that against a cog wheel and from the cog wheel to a water wheel and his skull was fractured, Deod (fly wheel, cog wheel and water wheel, belonging to Botfields, iron masters) £20, Cleobury Mortimer; Man fell from top to bottom of coal mine, Cainham
July 1806 Robert Steward, yeoman, Billingsley, Thomas Barker, Chelmarsh, blacksmith, William Griffiths, Billingsley, labourer, William Green, Billingsley, yeoman and William Street, Chelmarsh, labourer, accused John Jones, labourer, of Billingsley of stealing 1 ½ bushels of barley from Steward, worth 5/-. No true bill. QR 227/54 and 90
15th July 1806 Samuel Bateman of Billingsley was killed in No 5 pit by a slip of soil. QR 228/65
Oct 1806 Man caught in the cogs of a water wheel, Deod (cogs) £1-1-0, Oldbury
April1807 Man found dead at a certain furnace through inclemency of weather, Burford. Man going into coal pit and not properly fastening the chain, it slipped from the hook and he fell from the bottom, Coreley
28th May 1807 Samuel Knight or Bright, standing in a trunk at the head of Stanley Pit, fell from the trunk to the bottom of the pit, Highley. QS 231/78
28th May 1807 Francis Humphreys, standing in a trunk at the head of Stanley Pit, fell from the trunk to the bottom of the pit, Highley. QS 231/85
26th June 1807 Richard Harrington of Billingsley was killed in No 3 pit (ironstone) by a fall of soil. QR 231/109
July 1807 Woman walking in narrow path by Leominster Canal, fell in, Burford; Woman fell into Towns well, Alveley
12th Dec 1807 Richard Steward was being let down Stanley Pit in a trunk by a steam engine when he fell from the trunk to the bottom of the pit, Highley. The engine was moving to the death of Steward and is of the value of £5 and is the property of John and Benjamin Thompson of Highley, miners and co-partners. QS 236/125
Jan 1808 Man storing ale for sale without giving notice at the excise office, guilty, 1st offence, fined £50, Chelmarsh
April 1808 John Pugh stole 1s 2d worth of hay at Highley; 1 month imprisonment QR 234/9
17th August 1808 John Matthews, being employed to blow up a lime rock in Burford, it landed on his head and killed him QR 236/
1809 Richard Lane of Billingsley killed by fall of soil which he had undermined whilst in pursuit of swallows in New Building Quarry. QR 238/83
31st Jan 1809 John Tompkins being drunk and carrying coal from a pit at Cow Pasture, Chetton, fell into a pit. QR 238/78
April1809 Man driving level in coal pit when empty skip fell on his head, Hopton Wafers
15th July 1809 Ann Colley of Billingsley was swinging on an iron scale fixed to an iron beam supported by wooden legs on Furnace Bank when the beam fell on her head, killing her. Scales worth 10/-, the property of George Stokes and Co., Worcs., ironmasters. QR 240/58
15th August 1809 Joseph Rowles of Billingsley killed by a fall of coal whilst working in the New Pit.
27th Sept 1809 James Astbury or Hasbury of Billingsley as attempting to stop a leak in the pump tree of the engine pit but fell down the shaft. QR 240/61
14th Feb 1810 Thos Thomas unloading limestone, the weight of the stone overturned wagon and he was struck on the head by the bed, Cainham QR 242/78
20th Feb 1810 John Reynolds of Kinlet, aged 3, burnt to death in his home. QR 242/79
15th April 1810 Amy Wier of Billingsley, aged 6, killed when her petticoat caught alight whilst sitting by a fire in the Deserts Field. QR 242/81
3rd Nov 1810 George Elson of Highley was being wound out of Stanley No 3 pit whenhe overbalanced because of a cast iron weight and was drawn over a cast iron pulley and thrown to the ground. He died on the 15th Nov. Pulley worth 3/-, the property of John Thompson of Stottesdon. QR 246/56
16th Dec 1810 Walter Corbett of Kinlet killed in Birchen Vallets by a fall of oak poles QR 246/47
18th April 1811 John Donkey of Billingsley was being drawn up Broad Leasow pit by a gin driven by a grey mare when he fell from a hempen rope fastened to the wheel of the gin and fell to the bottom of the shaft. Mare worth 30/-, the property of Thomas Dannett. QR 246/61
13th June 1811 John Smith of Hampton Loade drowned in the Severn. QR 248/50
Oct 1811 Man at work in rolling mill in Hampton Loade and lifting iron bar over an iron spindle belonging to the rolling mill, was drawn over the spindle, Deod (spindle) 5/-, property of Jn Hincksman, Alveley; Man being rowed over the Severn at Hampton Loade, boat overturned by line of horse boat, Deod (line) 5/-; Chelmarsh; man running into a field fell into a pool, Billingsley
Jan 1812 Presentment by a grand jury that Robert Steward of Billingsley has erected a gate across an ancient pack and prime way leading from Sidbury to Highley, in Billingsley
April1812 Man looking into coal pit fell in, Burwarton,
July 1812 Order made to stay process in matter of a bridge called Lloyds Bridge, reparable by Cleobury Mortimer parish, presented July 1783, on the grounds that the bridge is disused due to a change of road and a new one has been built over the Rea. Women guilty of larceny, Highley, 3 months imprisonment.
Oct 1812 Man was stepping under a connecting rod belonging to an engine and the rod moved, fracturing the crown of his skull Deod (rod) £3, Hopton Wafers
12th Oct 1812 John Sheridan of Billingsley, labourer, stole one gelded ass and one she-ass, each worth 40/-, from Robert Steward whilst they were in a field in the possession of John Rowley, yeoman. QR 253/3 and 145.
Jan 1813 Man guilty of larceny, Billingsley, 1 month imprisonment
April 1813 Man at work in stone quarry, stone fell on him, Highley
Oct 1813 Man at work in stone quarry, Chetton, stone fell on him
27th June 1814 William Phillips, accused of assaulting Jasper Neth, Highley; no true bill QR 259/158
27th June 1814 Jasper Neth, labourer, accused of assaulting Joseph Thomas Gretton, Highley; true bill. William and Mary York sworn in court. QR 259/162
April1815 Man at work in coal pit, coal fell on him, Cainham
Oct 1815 2 men killed in quarry by fall of stone, Diddlebury
April1816 Man fell down coal pit, Coreley. The same, Cainham. Man riding on the lever of a threshing machine going by the draft of three horses for the purpose of grinding wheat, his head was forceably jammed between a beam and the arm of a certain wheel made of wood, deodand value 7/-, Highley.
5th Oct 1816 Chas Baldwin, employed to blow stone at Heath Lime Rock, Cainham, was setting light to the gunpowder which he had crammed into a hole with chipings of stone, the gunpowder went off and killed him QR 268/78
16th Nov 1816 William Garbett was at work in Stanley Pit when coal of no value fell upon him and he died the next day, Highley QR 266/72
Oct 1817 Man fell down pit, Coreley; Two men drowned by water coming into coal pit, Cainham
April1819 Man suffocated by damp in coal pit, Cleobury Mortimer
1820 William Garbett, killed by fall down Stanley Colliery, Highley QR 282/189