John Hodgson's Account of the Explosion at Felling

After an explosion at Felling Colliery killed 92 men and boys on 25 May 1812, the parish priest, the Rev. John Hodgson, wrote about it in the Newcastle Courant against the owners' wishes and published his funeral sermon with a prefixed account of the disaster, An Account of the Explosion at Felling (1813). It was one of the first attempts at a scientific analysis of a pit explosion, and the public concern it raised helped lead to the Sunderland Society and the safety lamps of Stephenson and Davy.

The mining history in this record

Hodgson was incumbent of Jarrow with Heworth, whose parish included the Felling pit of Brandling, Henderson and Grace. After the explosion the mine was sealed while fires burned, and the dead lay underground for seven weeks; Hodgson comforted the bereaved and persuaded them to accept a common, speedy burial rather than wakes, on a doctor's warning of fever. He appealed in the press for the widows and orphans, and then published his sermon with an account of the colliery, a plan of the workings and his analysis of the two explosions: he reasoned from the damage near John Pit, the downcast shaft, how the second blast had happened, and noted coal dust in the barrow-ways burnt to cinder, at a time when dust's part in explosions was barely understood. The 16-page pamphlet was written for the public rather than for miners, explaining mining terms as it went.

On 1 October 1812 the Society for Preventing Accidents in Coal Mines, the 'Sunderland Society', was founded by clergy, doctors, owners and viewers, among them William Reid Clanny and George Stephenson, to publicise accidents, study ventilation and develop safety lamps. Hodgson worked with it for years, and in 1815 met Sir Humphry Davy at Newcastle; Davy's research led to the Davy lamp, Hodgson's help was acknowledged, and he was one of the first to take the new lamp down a pit and explain it to the colliers.

People

Rev. John Hodgson, incumbent of Jarrow with Heworth and later historian of Northumberland. The 92 dead of 25 May 1812. William Reid Clanny, George Stephenson and Sir Humphry Davy, whose safety lamps followed.

Legacy today

A memorial to 91 of the 1812 victims stands in St Mary's churchyard, Heworth, over the common grave, with brass plaques on its four faces giving their names and ages. Hodgson's Account remains the main source for the disaster and is quoted in modern histories of it; he went on to write his History of Northumberland.

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.

• Hodgson published his funeral sermon with a prefixed account of the accident as An Account of the Explosion at Felling (Newcastle, 1813), with a plan of the workings. (documented fact) ¹
• He wrote about the accident in the Newcastle Courant against the owners' wishes and appealed for the widows and orphans. (documented fact) ¹
• His description and analysis of the explosions was one of the first attempts at a scientific analysis of such events. (documented fact) ²
• The 1812 loss of life was one of the motivators for the Geordie and Davy lamps; the Sunderland Society was founded on 1 October 1812. (documented fact) ^2,1
• Hodgson met Davy in 1815, his help with the Davy lamp was acknowledged, and he was one of the first to take the new lamp into a mine. (documented fact) ¹

Mines

• Felling Colliery — Tyne and Wear
  Hodgson's Account describes the 1812 Felling explosion, with a plan of the workings.

Disasters

• Felling Colliery explosion, 1812 — 25 May 1812
  The explosion Hodgson's sermon and Account describe.

People

• John Hodgson · author, 1812–1815 — Parish priest who wrote An Account of the Explosion at Felling (1813).

Regions

Tyne and Wear

Real-world mining concepts used here

Firedamp, Safety Lamp

Related Culture records

• George Stephenson and West Moor Pit
  Stephenson was a member of the Sunderland Society formed after Felling, and built the Geordie lamp.
• George Stephenson and West Moor Pit
  The Felling explosion of 1812 and Hodgson's Account spurred the safety-lamp work that led to the Geordie lamp.

Sources

1. (secondary) John Hodgson (antiquary) — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Felling mine disasters — Wikipedia

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 18 September 2026