A Fatal Accident at New Hall Mill

In the early years of the 19th century, the industrial and agricultural landscapes of Britain were marked by rapid progress, but also by peril. Amid the clatter of machinery and the buzz of rural enterprise, the dangers faced by working labourers were ever-present, often lurking in the very tools and machinery that they used every day of their lives. Such was the case at New Hall Mill in the 1840s, where a routine day’s labour took a disastrous turn.

The article that follows tells the tragic story of an unidentified labourer who worked for William Dutton, who was the miller from some time between 1841 and 1846, and 1853, when he passed away. The story was published in the Birmingham Journal on 5th December 1846:

A serious and fatal accident occurred last week, at Newhall Mill, in this parish, to a labouring man in the service of Mr William Dutton. It appears from the evidence. that the deceased went into the mill, which was in full work at the time, to fetch a tarpaulin to cover a load of corn or meal to go out with. Having laid hold of the covering, he threw it over his shoulders, and it is supposed that the strings attached to it caught in some of the cogs of the wheel, when the unfortunate man was dragged into the machinery. Mr Dutton was at the other end of the mill at the time, and perceiving something wrong, caused the mill to be immediately stopped, when the poor fellow was found mutilated in the most dreadful manner, his limbs being partly severed from his body, and most if not all his bones being broken. The unfortunate man lingered for more than five hours in the most dreadful agony, and he died perfectly sensible to the last. The deceased was a good servant, and particularly careful and regular in his behaviour and habits. It is scarcely necessary to say that the occurrence has proved a severe shock to Mr Dutton and all in his employ. An inquest was held on the body before Mr T P Oates Esq., and a respectable Jury, and a verdict of “Accidental Death’" returned.

We would like to identify this unnamed labourer, but thus far it has proved very difficult. ​

The first sources to check for such a dramatic accident were the newspapers. In 1846, Sutton Coldfield did not have its own dedicated newspaper. The town's first local newspaper, the Sutton Coldfield News, was not established until 1869. Prior to that, residents relied on regional publications from nearby Birmingham. Notable newspapers from Birmingham during that period were:​

• Aris's Birmingham Gazette: Established in 1741, it was a prominent source of news, including much business news, in the region. Aris's Birmingham Gazette did not carry the story.
• Birmingham Journal: Founded in 1825, this weekly newspaper provided extensive coverage of local and national events. This was the source of the original article.

Having made further searches in the British Newspaper Archive, the article above in the Birmingham Journal seems to be the only reference to the accident.

My next research option was to search through the Sutton Coldfield burial records. If the poor man was buried in Sutton Coldfield, which seemed quite likely, there would be limited options for his identity. "Last week" suggested that he died between 23rd and 29th November 1846. The date of the inquest was not given but a burial would normally take place immediately after the inquest, probably within a few days. This suggests a burial date between 24th November and 10th December at the outside. Only two men were buried in Sutton Coldfield in that period.

• John Adams of Redicap Lane, age 45, buried 25th Nov 1846. John was a shopkeeper in 1841, so it is possible that he was our man, but unlikely.
• James Dickins of Sutton, age 57, buried 26th Nov 1846. In 1841 James Dickins was a plasterer, so once again it seemed unlikely that he would have left a skilled trade.

In 1846 a new ecclesiastical parish was created in Walmley, close to New Hall. St John the Evangelist Church, built in 1845, was the parish church. Could our man have been amongst the first burials there? Unfortunately, Walmley's burials are not included in the Warwickshire records on Ancestry. There are no Find a Grave records for 1846. Find My Past, too, has sparse records for Walmley, with no men listed as buried there in 1846. My next task must be to check for Walmley burial records held by Warwickshire County Record Office, as they may have some which are not yet digitised.

The death should have been registered, especially as a coroner was involved, so my next search was the General Register Office's listings for the Meriden registration district. This records 42 male deaths in the Oct-Dec 1846 quarter, and 24 in the Jan-Mar 1847 quarter, which I would also have to check, as December deaths were sometimes registered early the following year. Curiously John Adams and James Dickins do not appear in either of these lists.

The task of investigating each of these men via their death records would be laborious and indeed expensive, as it would depend upon cross-referencing his details with the 1841 census, and buying a death registration document for all the likely ones at £8 each.

Here are the Jan-Mar 1847 registrations after checking that each man was of working age, and removing infants and children. I have highlighted the younger men under 60 years old, who seem more likely:

Here are the (less likely) Jan-Mar 1847 registrations:

That's a lot to research - 48 in all!

Another source of information might be gravestones. Unfortunately Sutton Coldfield parish church's graveyard was dismantled soon after WW2, and there are only a few gravestones arranged around the perimeter of the churchyard. None of these mention a mill accident.

My next option would be to dig deeper into the Coroner's records, at local or county record offices. The majority of records of inquests of this period are held at local archives. From 1752 to 1860, coroners were also required to file their inquests at the Quarter Sessions, so they may be preserved among the records of Quarter Sessions. The court sat every quarter, usually in January, April, July and October. The inquest must have taken place between 23rd November 1846 and 5th December 1846, so the Quarter Sessions would be in January 1847. Sutton Coldfield's Quarter Sessions records are held at the Warwickshire County Record Office.

The Friends remember this man with our deepest respect.

We will update this post with any new information we find about him in the future.