Brayton Domain Colliery Explosion, 1915

At about eleven in the morning on 26 April 1915, a shot of gelignite was fired into an almost entirely undermined rib of coal in the Yard Band seam of Brayton Domain No. 4 Colliery, next to a goaf whose condition nobody had checked. The gas in it exploded. Seven of the eight men at work in the district died of their burns over the following weeks, among them the deputy and shotfirer himself.

Cause

A gelignite shot fired into a thin, almost entirely undermined rib of coal, which blew through into an old bord communicating with an adjoining goaf, igniting the gas that had gathered there.

Contributing factors

The pillars were being extracted alongside a ten-foot downthrow fault against which the goaf had been laid for some years. The roof was so strong that in some cases no falls occurred for three months after the timber had been withdrawn, leaving an open area of at least 700 square yards next to the pillar being worked. No gas had ever been reported in the district, though it had been found in other districts of the same seam.

What happened

It was a Monday morning, and by good fortune only eight men were at work in the district — six hewers, a putter and a shot-firer. A four-yard lift was being taken off a pillar. The coal at the face of the lift had been undercut on the loose side right through to an old bord, and on the fast side to within six inches of it, leaving a thin rib. Into that rib a slightly rising shot-hole was drilled, until it penetrated the roof — and it did so at a point where a break extended vertically through the coal and twenty inches into the roof, to a horizontal parting communicating with an open space above a fall in the old bord. It was, as the Inspector put it, a most likely place for gas to accumulate. The only survivor's account was that a charge of gelignite was fired in the hole, and immediately there was an explosion in the old bord, which communicated with the goaf beside it. There was practically no violence in the blast, but flame and heat travelled some 180 yards from where it started. All seven died over the following weeks of severe burns. Because the mine was quite damp, coal dust played only a subsidiary part; had it been dry, the Inspector wrote, the consequences would have been much worse.

Investigation & inquiry

HM Inspector of Mines set out the case in his annual report. He drew three points from it: that the attempt to blast down a rib of coal which was almost entirely undermined should not have been allowed; that a powerful explosive like gelignite was most unsuitable for the purpose; and that the discipline of the mine should have prevented a shot being fired next to a goaf whose condition was unknown. He rejected the claim that the rib could not have been examined, having had no difficulty penetrating to the spot himself afterwards. The coroner's jury found death by burns following an explosion and recommended that no shot be fired in a rib next to a goaf unless the rib could be examined from the goaf side.

Recorded claims

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

• Seven of the eight men at work in the district died over the following weeks as a result of severe burns. They were Thomas Birney, 64; Robert Lightfoot, 20; Thomas Herbert Little, 29; Paul Rayson, 25; Joseph Rumney, 51, the deputy and shot firer; Henry Wilkinson, 32; and his father James Wilkinson, 59. (high) ¹
• The Inspector wrote that the seven lives were lost as the result of negligence or incompetence on the part of the responsible officials, and that had the two concerned — one a deputy, the other a shotfirer — possessed abilities equal to their responsibilities, the accident would not have happened. (high) ¹
• A slightly rising shot-hole was drilled into a thin rib until it penetrated the roof, at a point where a break ran vertically through the coal and into the roof for twenty inches to a horizontal parting communicating with an open space above a fall in the old bord — a most likely place for gas to accumulate. A charge of gelignite was fired in it. (high) ¹
• It was alleged that the back of the rib in the old bord could not be examined because of the danger of a fall, so the state of the adjoining goaf was unknown. The Inspector was satisfied no attempt had been made to examine it, having found no difficulty himself in penetrating to where the shot had blown through after the explosion. (high) ¹
• There was practically no indication of violence, but evidence of flame and heat for some 180 yards from the point of origin. Coal dust played a very subsidiary part because the mine was quite damp; otherwise the consequences would have been much more disastrous. (high) ¹
• The coroner's jury returned a verdict that the death of the seven men was caused by burns following an explosion, and recommended that no shot should be fired in a rib next to a goaf unless the rib could be examined from the goaf side. (high) ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…of gelignite was fired into an almost entirely undermined rib of coal in the Yard Band seam of Brayton Domain No. 4 Colliery, next to a…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…died of their burns over the following weeks, among them the deputy and shotfirer himself.”
• Goaf (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “…in the Yard Band seam of Brayton Domain No. 4 Colliery, next to a goaf whose condition nobody had checked. The gas in it exploded. Seven of…”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…fortune only eight men were at work in the district — six hewers, a putter and a shot-firer. A four-yard lift was being taken off a pillar. The…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…of their burns over the following weeks, among them the deputy and shotfirer himself.”

Sources

1. (primary) Report of HM Inspector of Mines on the explosion at Brayton Domain (No. 4) Colliery, 26 April 1915 — HM Inspector of Mines, via the Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Brayton Domain Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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