Burradon Colliery boiler explosion, 1847

On 20 March 1847 a colliery boiler at Burradon, north of Newcastle, burst minutes after the stoker had been told to raise the fires, killing him, a miner's wife and a bank lad.

Cause

The boiler burst soon after its fires were raised to lift low steam pressure; the float showed the water more than a foot above the working mark.

Contributing factors

The boiler was ten years old and had been caulked a fortnight earlier; only one of its two safety valves was in use.

What happened

About nine o'clock on the morning of 20 March 1847 the engineman at Burradon Colliery examined the boiler float and found the water more than a foot above the working mark. As the steam was low, he told the stoker, Robert Thompson, to raise the fires. Soon afterwards the boiler burst with a tremendous noise, carrying away part of the engine house and chimney. Thompson, a miner's wife named Margaret Proctor and a bank lad, James Gordon, were killed on the spot, and several workmen at the shaft were injured. The engineman escaped, badly scalded and bruised.

The colliery, about six miles north of Newcastle, belonged to Lord Ravensworth and partners. Its engine of about 90 horsepower was served by three large oval boilers, of which only two were in use that morning. The boiler that burst was torn into three pieces and parts of it were thrown a considerable distance into an adjoining field. Margaret Proctor had come to the place for water; James Gordon was about eleven. Several workmen were seriously hurt by flying bricks but were expected to recover.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest was held on the Monday before the coroner Stephen Reed. Anthony Scorer, engineman at the colliery for twenty-six years, said the boiler was ten years old, of three-eighths inch plate, worked at 50 pounds to the inch on one of its two safety valves and had been caulked a fortnight before. Twenty minutes before it burst he had found about four and a half feet of water in it against a working mark of three feet two inches. He could give no opinion on the cause. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Recorded claims

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

• About nine in the morning of 20 March 1847 a boiler burst at Burradon Colliery, killing three people and injuring several workmen at the shaft. ^1,2
• Minutes before, the engineman had found the water more than a foot above the working mark but, the steam being low, told the stoker to raise the fires; soon afterwards the boiler burst. ^1,2
• The dead were the stoker, Robert Thompson, a woman named Margaret Proctor and a boy, James Gordon; the engineman escaped badly scalded. ^1,2
• The explosion carried away part of the engine house and chimney. ¹
• The colliery belonged to Lord Ravensworth and partners; its engine of about 90 horsepower had three oval boilers, two of them in use, and the one that burst was torn into three pieces. ³
• At the inquest before the coroner Stephen Reed the engineman, Anthony Scorer, could give no opinion on the cause, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death. ³
• Margaret Proctor, a miner's wife, was at the place fetching water, and James Gordon, employed at the bank, was about eleven. ³

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 20 March 1847 a colliery boiler at Burradon, north of Newcastle, burst minutes after the…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the boiler burst with a tremendous noise, carrying away part of the engine house and chimney. Thompson, a miner's wife named Margaret Proctor and a…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…James Gordon, were killed on the spot, and several workmen at the shaft were injured. The engineman escaped, badly scalded and bruised.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Local Records; or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events, vol. 3 (T. Fordyce, 1867) — Internet Archive
2. (primary) Colliery Accident 1847: Burradon, 20 March 1847 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Burradon Pit Village Timeline 1829-1860 — Burradon History (burradon.info)

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026