Blackbrook Colliery explosion and fire, 1856

Firedamp in the goaf of the Rushy Park mine at Blackbrook Colliery, St Helens, was fired by a collier working with a naked light in October 1856; the dry coal caught fire and three men were suffocated by the smoke.

Cause

Firedamp in the goaf ignited at a naked light; the dry coal caught fire.

What happened

Some firedamp had gathered in the goaf of the Rushy Park mine at Bromilow, Brother and Sothern's Blackbrook Colliery when an inexperienced collier named Lawrenson, working with his lamp uncovered, fired it on 11 October 1856. The explosion itself did not reach much beyond the goaf, but the coal there was very dry and caught fire, and the flames spread quickly to the far end of the workings, where men and boys were employed. The men nearest the fire left their places without telling the underlooker until they reached the pit bottom, by which time it had spread a long way; the inspector thought they might have put it out had they tackled it at once. Lawrenson escaped unhurt, but William Price, John Naylor and Samuel Briers were suffocated by the smoke and gases of the burning coal. When the inspector reported, the body of one of the dead, a youth of eighteen, had not been found, the workings had been stopped, and steam at high pressure was being forced into them to put the fire out.

Rescue & recovery

The workings were stopped and steam at high pressure forced into them to put out the fire, which was still not wholly extinguished when the inspector reported; one body had not then been recovered.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest at the Royal Arms, Parr, on 25 October 1856 it emerged that Lawrenson had been working with a naked candle on the orders of the underlooker, Thomas Johnson, because the ventilation was good; Johnson had since been discharged. The inspector, Mr Higson, read the colliery's rules on naked lights, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Winstanley's list dates the deaths 1 October 1856. (disputed) ^1,3,4

Recorded claims

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

• On 11 October 1856 an explosion of firedamp in the Rushy Park mine at Blackbrook Colliery set the coal on fire, and three men were killed. ^1,2
• Winstanley's list dates the deaths 1 October 1856. (disputed) ^1,3,4
• The dead were William Price, John Naylor and Samuel Briers; the owners were Bromilow, Brother and Sothern. ^1,3,2,4
• Firedamp in the goaf was fired by a collier working with his lamp uncovered; he escaped, but the dry coal caught fire and the others were suffocated. ²
• The inquest at the Royal Arms, Parr, heard that the collier used a naked candle on the underlooker's orders; the underlooker was discharged and the verdict was accidental death. ²

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…by a collier working with a naked light in October 1856; the dry coal caught fire and three men were suffocated by the smoke.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Firedamp in the goaf of the Rushy Park mine at Blackbrook Colliery, St Helens, was fired by a collier working with a naked light in…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Firedamp in the goaf of the Rushy Park mine at Blackbrook Colliery, St…”
• Goaf (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “Firedamp in the goaf of the Rushy Park mine at Blackbrook Colliery, St Helens, was fired…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, St Helens, was fired by a collier working with a naked light in October 1856; the dry coal caught fire and three men were…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1850s B: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (secondary) Blackbrook Colliery Accidents — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Healey Hero: mining victims 1850-1859, P (John Parry, Ynyshir, 18 March 1857) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining victims lists)
4. (secondary) Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining deaths, 1850-1859 (N) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley collection)

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