Astley Deep Pit explosion, 1870

In March 1870 an explosion of firedamp at Astley Deep Pit, Dukinfield, killed nine men and stunned some 200 more. The inspector had warned the proprietor for two years that an accident would follow if he did not appoint a competent manager, and the jury found the manager unfit to run the mine alone.

Cause

Firedamp, accumulated where badly placed brattice sheets let the air short-circuit, ignited by a shot fired by Solomon Cambridge or by a lamp.

Contributing factors

Brattice sheets that let the air escape beneath them; the airway driven back up the brow; a manager the inspector judged unfit for so large a mine.

What happened

The pit belonged to the Dunkirk Company, whose proprietor was Benjamin Ashton; Elijah Swann was the manager. The workings were reached by a brow from the 1,500-yard level, and the air was led round them past brattice sheets hung across the intake. The air lifted the bottoms of the sheets and escaped through a ten-inch gap, and the airway had been driven back 86 yards up the brow, which the inspector, Thomas Wynne, thought must inevitably have led to an explosion. He had found the air in the workings very warm on an earlier visit. After the explosion a shot about 17 inches deep was found to have been fired near the No. 2 Jig.

Nine men were killed and two badly injured, and around 200 were left stunned and deafened. Among the dead were Solomon Cambridge, who had fired the shot, William Hodson, who left five children, and Edward Cartwright, newly come from Staffordshire. Wynne called the cause the old fault: bad management, or rather no management at all.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector, Thomas Wynne, had repeatedly told Ashton that Swann was not competent to manage the colliery. The coroner said the gas could have been fired by Cambridge's shot or by Normington's lamp.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found the men died accidentally from an explosion caused by a shot fired by Solomon Cambridge, and that Elijah Swann was not competent to have sole management of such a mine. The explosion was raised in the House of Commons in April 1874, after the pit's second disaster.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The explosion happened on 4 March 1870. (disputed) ²
• The explosion happened on 8 March 1870. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Nine men were killed in the explosion. ^1,2
• The explosion happened on 4 March 1870. (disputed) ²
• The explosion happened on 8 March 1870. (disputed) ¹
• The jury found that Elijah Swann was not competent to have sole management of such a mine. ^1,2
• The inspector Thomas Wynne had warned the proprietor Benjamin Ashton for two years that an accident would happen if he did not appoint a competent manager. ²
• About 200 men were stunned and deafened and two badly injured. ¹

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “Firedamp, accumulated where badly placed brattice sheets let the air short-circuit, ignited by a shot fired by Solomon…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…repeatedly told Ashton that Swann was not competent to manage the colliery. The coroner said the gas could have been fired by Cambridge's shot…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “In March 1870 an explosion of firedamp at Astley Deep Pit, Dukinfield, killed nine men and stunned some 200…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the manager. The workings were reached by a brow from the 1,500-yard level, and the air was led round them past brattice sheets hung across the…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and the air was led round them past brattice sheets hung across the intake. The air lifted the bottoms of the sheets and escaped through a…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Astley Deep Pit disaster — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Astley Deep Colliery Dunkirk Pit Explosion - Dukinfield - 1870 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026