Balbardie Colliery boiler explosion, 1895

On the morning of Tuesday 19 February 1895 the two centre boilers of six at the Dovecot pit of Walker and Cameron's Balbardie Colliery, Bathgate, burst, wrecking the pithead works, felling a chimney stalk and killing the fireman Richard Beswick and a labourer, Robert Strickland. About 300 men were thrown idle.

Cause

The two centre boilers burst and displaced the other four; the men in charge said the floats were in good working order, and the boiler insurance inspectors found that scarcity of water was not the cause. The boilers were about 30 feet by 5 feet and worked up to 45 pounds pressure.

What happened

Part of one boiler was blown about four hundred yards and part of another a hundred yards the opposite way. One of the two chimney stalks was levelled; the smithy, joiners' and engineers' shops were wrecked by flying bricks. The pitheadmen and runners escaped because the blast went east and west; had it gone north and south the engine-house would have been wrecked. Strickland was found standing against a post, still breathing, and died almost at once; Beswick's body was buried under a pile of bricks. With the boilers gone the water could not be pumped, the pit stood idle and close on 300 men were out of work; the damage was estimated at about £2,000.

Rescue & recovery

The men underground could not be raised in the usual way and were brought up through the shaft of the adjoining mine.

Recorded claims

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

• On Tuesday 19 February 1895 two of the six boilers at the Dovecot pit of Balbardie Colliery, Bathgate, burst, killing two men. ^1,2,3
• The explosion wrecked the boiler seat and engineers' shop, felled one of two chimney stalks and threw part of a boiler about four hundred yards; damage was put at about £2,000. ^1,2
• Work stopped entirely and about 300 men were thrown idle. ^1,2,3
• Inspectors of the Scottish boiler insurance company established that the explosion was not caused by a shortage of water; the cause was not known. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…boilers of six at the Dovecot pit of Walker and Cameron's Balbardie Colliery, Bathgate, burst, wrecking the pithead works, felling a chimney…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the blast went east and west; had it gone north and south the engine-house would have been wrecked. Strickland was found standing against a…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…wrecking the pithead works, felling a chimney stalk and killing the fireman Richard Beswick and a labourer, Robert Strickland. About 300 men…”
• Pithead (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…and Cameron's Balbardie Colliery, Bathgate, burst, wrecking the pithead works, felling a chimney stalk and killing the fireman Richard…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…could not be raised in the usual way and were brought up through the shaft of the adjoining mine.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Shale: Balbardie No.1 pit — Scottish Shale (Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry)
2. (primary) Welsh Newspapers: South Wales Daily News, 20 February 1895, 'Boiler explosion at a colliery' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Welsh Newspapers: The Cardiff Times, 23 February 1895, 'Boiler explosion at a colliery' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026