MineArchiveBirchenwood Colliery Explosion, 1925
An explosion at the No. 18 pit of Birchenwood Colliery, Kidsgrove, on 18 December 1925 killed seven men and seriously injured fourteen others. The colliery had changed hands six months earlier, passing from the Birchenwood Colliery Company to Kidsgrove Collieries Limited.
| Date | 18 December 1925 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Birchenwood Colliery |
| Region | Staffordshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 7 (Seven men killed. The sources do not name them; the Northern Mine Research Society's page on the explosion, which would, could not be retrieved.) |
| Injuries | Fourteen men were seriously injured. |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
A methane explosion, attributed in the accounts read to spontaneous combustion. No. 18 was the colliery's main shaft and the only one winding coal.
Contributing factors
Nothing further is recorded. The colliery had five shafts and a footrail in use for pumping, winding and ventilation, two of the shafts upcast and two with the footrail downcast.
What happened
Little of the day survives in what could be read. The explosion was at the No. 18 pit on 18 December 1925, a week before Christmas, at a colliery that had been in new hands for six months. Seven men died and fourteen more were seriously hurt.
Rescue & recovery
Nothing is recorded of the rescue.
Investigation & inquiry
The explosion appears in the Coalmining History Resource Centre's list of British mining disasters from 1900. No inquiry report has been read.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
Nothing recorded.
Changes to practice & legislation
Nothing recorded.
Memorials & commemoration
No memorial specific to the explosion is known.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- There was an explosion at the No. 18 pit on 18 December 1925 which killed seven men and seriously injured fourteen others. 1
- The explosion appears in the Coalmining History Resource Centre's list of mining disasters in Great Britain from 1900, as Birchenwood, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, 18 December 1925. 2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Coal (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s cause: “…No. 18 was the colliery's main shaft and the only one winding coal.” - Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion at the No. 18 pit of Birchenwood Colliery, Kidsgrove, on 18 December 1925 killed seven men and seriously…” - Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…in use for pumping, winding and ventilation, two of the shafts upcast and two with the footrail downcast.” - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “…read to spontaneous combustion. No. 18 was the colliery's main shaft and the only one winding coal.” - Spontaneous Combustion (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s cause: “A methane explosion, attributed in the accounts read to spontaneous combustion. No. 18 was the colliery's main shaft and the only one winding coal.”
Sources
- (secondary) Birchenwood Colliery — Staffordshire Past Track
- (secondary) Mining Disasters in Great Britain - 1900 (master list) — Coalmining History Resource Centre
Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026