Stargate Pit Disaster Memorials

Two memorials to the 38 men and boys killed at Stargate Colliery in 1826: a stone on the communal grave at Ryton's Holy Cross church, placed by the Ryton Heritage Group in 1993, and a replica colliery tub naming all the dead, unveiled near the pit site in 2018.

The mining history in this record

The explosion at Stargate Pit on 30 May 1826 killed 38 men and boys and left 19 women widowed and 62 children without fathers. Eleven of the dead were Robsons, and the Wheatley and Dowsey families each lost three members. In the main phase of burials 27 of the victims were laid in a communal grave at Holy Cross church, Ryton; most lay in unmarked graves and the disaster was largely forgotten for many years.

The Ryton Heritage Group placed a memorial stone on the communal grave mounds in the churchyard in 1993. In 2018 a second memorial, a replica colliery tub bearing the names of all the men and boys who died, was unveiled near the site of the former pit, which closed in 1963.

People

Aidan Lawson, chairman, and Terry Docherty, treasurer, of Brighten Ryton; the local historian and author Val Scully, who gave the anniversary talk; the Ryton Heritage Group, which placed the 1993 stone.

Legacy today

For the 200th anniversary the heritage group Brighten Ryton and Holy Cross church arranged a talk by the local historian Val Scully at Stargate Hall on 19 May 2026 and, at 3 p.m. on 30 May in the church, a commemoration with Hexham Brass Band and a community choir. Crookhill Primary School worked with Brighten Ryton on a project on the disaster to be shown in the church. Many of the victims' family names are still familiar in the area.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• In the main phase of burials 27 of the Stargate victims were buried in a communal grave at Holy Cross church, Ryton. (contemporary account) ¹
• Most of the Stargate victims were buried in unmarked graves in Holy Cross churchyard and the disaster was largely forgotten for many years. (contemporary account) ²
• The Ryton Heritage Group erected a memorial to the victims in Ryton Holy Cross churchyard in 1993. (documented fact) ^3,1,4
• In 2018 a replica colliery tub bearing the names of all the men and boys who died was unveiled near the site of the former pit. (contemporary account) ¹
• A talk was arranged for 19 May 2026 at Stargate Hall and a commemoration with Hexham Brass Band and a community choir for 3 p.m. on 30 May 2026 at Holy Cross church. (contemporary account) ^1,2
• Crookhill Primary School worked with Brighten Ryton on a project to remember the disaster, to be displayed in the church. (contemporary account) ¹
• Eleven of the dead were Robsons, the Wheatley and Dowsey families each lost three members and many of the family names are familiar in the area today. (contemporary account) ¹

Mines

• Stargate Colliery — Tyne and Wear
  The memorials commemorate the men and boys killed in the 1826 explosion at Stargate Pit; the tub stands near the pit's site.

Disasters

• Stargate Colliery explosion, 1826 — 30 May 1826

Sources

1. (secondary) Heritage group leads 200-year commemoration of mining tragedy (Tony Henderson, 25 April 2026) — Cultured North East
2. (secondary) Hexham Brass to take part in commemoration of pit disaster (Hexham Courant) — Hexham Courant
3. (primary) Stargate Colliery (HER 3319) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record (Sitelines)
4. (observational) Stargate Memorial, Holy Cross Churchyard (Geograph 2219947) — Geograph

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 29 September 2026