Cramlington Colliery boiler explosion, 1836

On the morning of 16 March 1836 the engine boiler at Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland, burst, killing the young man in charge of it and two boys passing on their way to school.

Cause

The boiler of the colliery engine burst.

What happened

On Wednesday morning, 16 March 1836, the boiler of the engine at Cramlington Colliery, north of Newcastle, burst. John Dawson, a young man who had charge of the engine, was killed, and so were two schoolboys, George Marshall and Thomas Mills, who were passing the engine on their way to school.

Recorded claims

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

• On 16 March 1836 the boiler of the engine at Cramlington Colliery burst, killing three people. ^1,2
• One was John Dawson, a young man in charge of the engine; the other two were boys passing on their way to school. ^1,2
• The two schoolboys were George Marshall and Thomas Mills. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On the morning of 16 March 1836 the engine boiler at Cramlington Colliery, Northumberland, burst, killing the young man in charge of it and…”

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 1836: Cramlington, 16 March 1836 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026