MineArchiveBrancepeth Colliery A Pit explosion, 1896
Twenty men and boys were killed in the A pit at Brancepeth Colliery, near Willington in County Durham, on 13 April 1896, by an explosion of coal dust which the Durham Mining Museum records as ignited by shot firing. The colliery, opened in 1840 and owned by Straker and Love, worked on until 1967.
| Date | 13 April 1896 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Brancepeth Colliery |
| Region | County Durham |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 20 (Twenty men and boys were killed. The Durham Mining Museum lists them among the names of those killed at the colliery, and marks some as remembered on a memorial.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
An explosion of coal dust, the ignition caused by shot firing.
What happened
Brancepeth Colliery opened in 1840 near Willington and was owned by Straker and Love until nationalisation; it comprised three pits, A, B and C, and a drift. On 13 April 1896 an explosion of coal dust, ignited by shot firing, killed twenty men and boys in the A pit. The colliery continued in work for another seventy years, closing in 1967.
Rescue & recovery
Unknown.
Investigation & inquiry
Unknown.
Memorials & commemoration
Unknown.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- The Durham Mining Museum records the explosion of 13 April 1896 at Brancepeth as one of coal dust, the ignition caused by shot firing, with 20 lives lost. 1
- Brancepeth Colliery opened in 1840 near Willington and was owned by Straker and Love until nationalisation in 1947; it had three pits, A, B and C, and a drift mine, and closed in 1967. 2
Sources
- (secondary) Brancepeth Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Brancepeth Colliery (1840 - 1967) — Co-Curate, Newcastle University
Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026