Black Mine Pit explosion, 1842

At about eleven o'clock on 8 April 1842 an explosion in Swyre and Lees' Black Mine pit at Flowery Field, Newton, near Hyde, killed 17 of the 26 below. Ten were found at the far end of the mine, where they had run for safety.

What happened

The colliery employed fifty or sixty men and boys. A shaft 160 yards deep led to two engine-hauled inclined planes, each about 300 yards long, and a level running 800 yards; the explosion happened on the level about 200 yards from its end. The banksman heard a terrible rumbling and saw flames at the pit mouth.

Volunteers gathered with a crowd of relatives, and the surgeons Tinkler and Potter came, but it was several hours before it was safe to go down. The underlooker's party found eight dead, then seven more, and an hour later the last ten at the extreme end of the workings. Two, Bowker and Grimshaw, were alive; Bowker died soon after and Grimshaw in the arms of a workmate. Among the dead were two John Aspinalls, aged 44 and 18, and John and William Bowker.

Rescue & recovery

The underlooker led the search after several hours' wait for the air to clear; the last group was found at the extreme end of the mine, two of them still alive.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury returned accidental death, with no blame to anyone.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion on 8 April 1842 killed seventeen. ^1,2
• Twenty-six persons were known to be in the pit. ¹
• The last ten were found at the extreme end of the mine where they had run for safety; two were alive but died. ¹
• The jury returned accidental death with no blame to anyone. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…explosion happened on the level about 200 yards from its end. The banksman heard a terrible rumbling and saw flames at the pit…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “The colliery employed fifty or sixty men and boys. A shaft 160 yards deep led to…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…two engine-hauled inclined planes, each about 300 yards long, and a level running 800 yards; the explosion happened on the level about 200…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “The colliery employed fifty or sixty men and boys. A shaft 160 yards deep led to two engine-hauled inclined planes, each about…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Black Mine Explosion - Hyde - 1842 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Black Mine Pit, Hyde, 8 April 1842 — Durham Mining Museum

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