Edward Ormerod (2 May 1834 – 26 May 1894) was an English mining engineer. Edward Ormerod (sometimes Ormrod) was born on 2 May 1834 in the village of

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, near Accrington, in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. He worked as a mining engineer at

Fletcher, Burrows and Company Fletcher, Burrows and Company was a coal mining company that owned collieries and cotton mills in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. Gibfield, Howe Bridge and Chanters collieries exploited the coal mines (seams) of the middle coal measure ...

Gibfield Colliery Gibfield Colliery was a coal mine owned by Fletcher, Burrows and Company in Atherton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, England. A shaft was sunk at Gibfield to the Trencherbone mine in 1829 by John Fletcher next to the Bolton and Lei ...

in Atherton, Greater Manchester, where he devised and tested a safety device. He was supported by chief engineering foreman, James Rothwell from Hindley. He married Betsy Hope in 1856 and had several children. He died on 26 May 1894 and is buried in Atherton Cemetery. A small memorial stone in front of his grave depicts and pays tribute to his invention. Edward Ormerod developed and patented the "Ormerod" safety link or detaching hook, known in mining circles as a "butterfly". This elegant device was inserted into the winding rope in such a way that if the lift cage was accidentally overwound the link would be pulled into a bell through which the winding rope passed. This action would not only disconnect the cage from the winding rope but also prevent the cage from falling back down the shaft. The device was patented in 1867 and is manufactured today. It is believed that the lives of many miners have been saved by its use and it has never failed in service. The design was awarded a gold medal at the Manchester Mechanical & Industrial exhibition of 1875 and a silver medal at the Franco British Exhibition in 1908.

References

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External links

Edward Ormerod and Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormerod, Edward 1834 births 1894 deaths Mine safety English mining engineers English inventors People from Church, Lancashire