Bardsley Colliery explosion, 1858

On 2 February 1858 firedamp exploded through both working seams of the Victoria and Diamond pits at the Bardsley Colliery Company's colliery near Ashton-under-Lyne, killing 53. The inspector, Joseph Dickinson, had warned in writing of the exact faults that caused it, and there was no viewer.

Cause

Firedamp accumulated through insufficient ventilation, the airways being too small, and ignited by shot firing.

Contributing factors

More working places than the air could ventilate; small, obstructed airways; unlocked safety lamps; no viewer; the inspector's written warnings not acted on in full.

What happened

The pits worked the Two-Feet and Peacock seams, also called the Upper and Lower Bent, seven yards apart, 18 to 28 inches thick and 470 yards deep. Both gave off firedamp freely. To make such thin, deep seams pay, more places were opened than the air could ventilate. In September 1856 Dickinson cautioned the underlooker, William Hibbert. In August 1857 he found the colliery dangerous again and gave the owners written notice: gas visible in the return air, too much work for the 14,800 cubic feet of air a minute, unlocked lamps, one with its gauze loose, and too few double doors. A new furnace and a steam blast that October improved the air for a while.

By February James Hibbert had succeeded his brother as underlooker. The air sometimes fired in the lamps in the return, men had to retreat from places, the airways were small and choked with rubbish, and the lamps were still unlocked. The managing partner seldom went down. The explosion ran through both seams; forty-five of the fifty-three dead were burnt.

Investigation & inquiry

Dickinson's report set out his warnings of 1856 and 1857 and concluded the cause was evidently insufficient ventilation owing to the airways being too small.

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 ignition was caused by shot firing. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion on 2 February 1858 killed 53 persons. ^1,2
• The cause was evidently insufficient ventilation, owing to the airways being too small. ^1,2
• The inspector had cautioned the underlooker and given the owners written notice on the precise points in which the explosion originated. ^1,2
• The ignition was caused by shot firing. (uncertain) ²
• Forty-five of the fifty-three victims were burnt. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…of the Victoria and Diamond pits at the Bardsley Colliery Company's colliery near Ashton-under-Lyne, killing 53. The inspector, Joseph Dickinson,…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 2 February 1858 firedamp exploded through both working seams of the Victoria and Diamond pits…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…than the air could ventilate; small, obstructed airways; unlocked safety lamps; no viewer; the inspector's written warnings not acted on in full.”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…ventilation, the airways being too small, and ignited by shot firing.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Bardsley Colliery Explosion - Ashton-under-Lyne - 1858 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Bardsley, Diamond Pit, 2 February 1858 — Durham Mining Museum

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