Clough Hall Colliery explosion, 1865

On 1 March 1865 a shot fired in a working known to hold gas caused an explosion in the Bullhurst seam at Kinnersley and Co.'s Clough Hall Colliery, Kidsgrove, killing five. The inspector called the shot perfect madness, but magistrates dismissed the case against the manager.

Cause

A shot fired in a working where gas had been found that day.

Contributing factors

A fiery seam with no furnace or mechanical ventilation, only brattice air; gas not reported to the manager.

What happened

The man in charge of the pit, Birks, had found gas in the working place that morning and again a few hours before the men went down. The gas was a few feet from the roof, yet he let them carry on and even fire a shot, which caused the explosion. Elijah Birks, John Sims, William Swinswood and Isaac and Joseph Brocklehurst died.

The manager, Rolandson, told the inquiry he had not examined the place for air or gas, that it had only brattice air, that the Bullhurst was a fiery seam with no furnace or other ventilation, and that a man had already been burned to death in the main airway. The inspector, Wynne, charged him under the first general rule, but the magistrates dismissed the case. On 7 September the same official found gas near the same place and ordered a man to brush it out with his waistcoat; the flame was driven through the gauze and the brusher was killed. That time a conviction was obtained.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector, Wynne, said the place was one where men ought never to have worked, and to fire a shot there was perfect madness.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Wynne charged the manager with a breach of the first general rule; the magistrates dismissed it. After a further fatal ignition at the colliery that September, a conviction was obtained.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion of firedamp on 1 March 1865 killed five colliers. ^1,2
• The man in charge found gas in the working yet let the men work and fire a shot there, which caused the explosion. ¹
• The magistrates dismissed the inspector's charge against the manager; after another fatal ignition that September a conviction was obtained. ¹
• Another collier was killed by an explosion of firedamp at the colliery on 7 September 1865. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “A fiery seam with no furnace or mechanical ventilation, only brattice air; gas not reported to the manager.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…explosion in the Bullhurst seam at Kinnersley and Co.'s Clough Hall Colliery, Kidsgrove, killing five. The inspector called the shot perfect…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…with his waistcoat; the flame was driven through the gauze and the brusher was killed. That time a conviction was obtained.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Clough Hall Colliery Explosion - Newcastle-under-Lyme - 1865 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Clough Hall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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