Craighead Colliery shaft explosion, 1877

On the evening of 11 September 1877 gas exploded in the sinking shaft of Wm. Baird and Co.'s No. 2 Pit at Craighead, Blantyre. The blast tore out part of the shaft's midwall, which fell on the three sinkers at the bottom 163 fathoms down, killing Hugh Burns and Patrick McGill.

Cause

An accumulation of firedamp in the shaft, given off by the Ell, Main and Pyotshaw seams, ignited by a naked light, either of the men on the kettle or of those at the bottom.

What happened

The shaft, 23 feet by 7, had passed through the Upper, Ell, Pyotshaw, Main and Humph seams, each of which gave off firedamp, and was ventilated only by a steam jet 8½ fathoms down the upcast. A few minutes before seven, Burns, McGill and Garrety went down on the kettle with naked lights and sent away a load of stones. Five minutes later the chargeman, James Robertson, and Richard Pollock went down to fix a plumb line at 118 fathoms; Pollock stepped off through a canvas-covered opening in the midwall into the upcast, in the dark, having no safety lamp. As he came back through the opening the gas exploded. Robertson and Pollock, slightly burned, got back to the surface, but the blast knocked out several fathoms of midwall and some barring, which fell down the shaft on the three men below, killing Burns and McGill. None of the three was burned.

Rescue & recovery

The broken midwall destroyed the ventilation of the lower shaft, and repeated attempts to reach Garrety, held fast by debris at the bottom, failed until the brattice was temporarily repaired and water run down to clear the gas. He was brought out about 3 a.m. on the Wednesday and was expected to survive. It was then judged that the other two were dead, and the shaft was made safe before the search resumed; their bodies were recovered on the evening of the 13th.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector of mines, who examined the shaft on the following Saturday, placed the seat of the explosion about the Ell coal, some 144 feet below the point where the men had entered the upcast. He could not say whether the men on the kettle or those at the bottom fired the gas, though he inclined to the former, and held that the accident was caused by an accumulation of gas that sufficient ventilation would easily have driven away, for which the managers and owners were to blame. It was the first accident of any kind in the two years the colliery had been at work.

Recorded claims

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

• About 7 p.m. on 11 September 1877 an explosion of gas in the sinking shaft of No. 2 Pit, Craighead Colliery, Blantyre, brought down midwall and barring on the sinkers below, killing Hugh Burns and Patrick McGill. ^1,2
• The pit was being sunk by Wm. Baird and Co. and was 163½ fathoms deep, ventilated by a steam jet in the upcast; firedamp had been given off by each seam passed through. ²
• A third sinker, Garrety, was pinned by the debris at the bottom and rescued about 3 a.m.; the bodies of the two dead were recovered on the evening of the 13th. ²
• The inspector held the managers and owners to blame for not driving away the accumulation of gas with sufficient ventilation. ²

Related terminology

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

• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…reach Garrety, held fast by debris at the bottom, failed until the brattice was temporarily repaired and water run down to clear the gas. He was…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…firedamp, and was ventilated only by a steam jet 8½ fathoms down the upcast. A few minutes before seven, Burns, McGill and Garrety went down on…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…shaft's midwall, which fell on the three sinkers at the bottom 163 fathoms down, killing Hugh Burns and Patrick McGill.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inspector of mines, who examined the shaft on the following Saturday, placed the seat…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…shaft, given off by the Ell, Main and Pyotshaw seams, ignited by a naked light, either of the men on the kettle or of those at the bottom.”

Sources

1. (primary) Craighead Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: fatal accidents 1877 — Scottish Mining Website

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026