Barrwood Colliery explosion and fire, 1878

On the morning of 8 March 1878, two hours after eighty men had gone down Barrwood Colliery at Kilsyth, the air reversed and the bottom of the downcast shaft filled with flame. Men in the ironstone workings escaped to the upcast, but those in the main dook were cut off. Rescuers were driven back by afterdamp and repeated explosions, and on the sixth day the burning mine was sealed and flooded. Seventeen died; the last body was recovered on 10 September.

Cause

Undetermined. A mild explosion took place near the foot of the main dook, and a fire broke out round the bottom of No. 2 shaft, but the inspector could not say which came first. He thought a discharge of gas near the shaft possible, from strata drained by the new Haugh pit to the dip; the flooding destroyed the evidence. The fiery seam was worked with naked lights.

What happened

The night fireman examined the workings at 8 p.m. and again at 3 a.m. and reported all well. About two hours after the day shift went down, men felt a slight blast or a check and reversal of the air, and the bottom of the downcast was enveloped in flame. A bottomer arriving in the cage lay on the level floor while flame rushed over him into the shaft. Twelve men from the main dook tried more than once to pass the burning pit bottom and then groped up the face in the dark, where explorers found them.

Rescue & recovery

Volunteers went down No. 1 pit within a short time and brought out the twelve, but further explosions, afterdamp and the reversed air carrying furnace smoke drove them back. Steam and water jets were tried to restore circulation, and No. 2 shaft, whose midwall had burned out, was repaired. On 14 March explorers retreated from another explosion, and a meeting of mining engineers declared that none of the trapped men could still be alive. The mine was closed on the sixth day and took four weeks to flood; pumping began on 15 April, and the last body was found on 10 September.

Investigation & inquiry

The Inspector of Mines, William Alexander, with his assistants Mr Moore and Mr Ronaldson, called the finding 'somewhat unsatisfactory': the cause could not be fixed because the months of flooding had obliterated the evidence.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

A relief fund managed by local gentlemen paid 5s a week to each widow and 2s for each child; it stood at over £1,100 within weeks.

Changes to practice & legislation

Barrwood was afterwards worked with locked safety lamps.

Recorded claims

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

• On 8 March 1878 an explosion and fire at Barrwood Colliery, Kilsyth, killed seventeen. ^1,2
• About two hours after 80 men had gone down, the air reversed and the bottom of No. 2 pit was enveloped in flame. ^1,2
• The burning mine was closed on the sixth day after the accident and flooded. ¹
• Men in the ironstone and small-coal workings escaped by the south-west air-course to No. 1 pit. ^1,2
• The mine was afterwards worked with locked safety lamps. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…those in the main dook were cut off. Rescuers were driven back by afterdamp and repeated explosions, and on the sixth day the burning mine was…”
• Dook (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the ironstone workings escaped to the upcast, but those in the main dook were cut off. Rescuers were driven back by afterdamp and repeated…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Barrwood Colliery at Kilsyth, the air reversed and the bottom of the downcast shaft filled with flame. Men in the ironstone workings escaped to the…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…the flooding destroyed the evidence. The fiery seam was worked with naked lights.”
• Onsetter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…of the air, and the bottom of the downcast was enveloped in flame. A bottomer arriving in the cage lay on the level floor while flame rushed over…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Barrwood 1878 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) NMRS: Barwood Colliery Explosion, Kilsyth, 1878 — Northern Mine Research Society

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