Darley Main Colliery fire, 1847

On 29 January 1847 blasting with gunpowder set the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit bottom at Darley Main Colliery, near Barnsley. After more than two hours trying to put it out the men retreated through the smoke, and six of them died, among them the underground steward.

Cause

Coal set on fire by blasting with gunpowder about 200 yards from the pit bottom; the men were overcome by the smoke while retreating.

Contributing factors

Ventilation inadequate for the hundred people employed; no division between districts to confine a fire or explosion.

What happened

Darley Main worked the Barnsley Thick, or Main, coal. About 100 men and boys worked there, the ventilation was totally inadequate for them, and nothing divided the districts of the mine to confine the effects of an explosion or fire. When the coal caught fire from a shot, the men fought it for over two hours without success before they had to fall back through the smoke.

Many reached the shaft safely. Eight came out exhausted but were expected to recover; six did not, the steward G. Gomersley, T. Elistone, T. Broadhead, J. Jenkinson, J. Gilberthorpe and G. Brown. Their bodies were recovered by noon. Five were married men, and all six were buried in one grave in Worsbrough churchyard. Two years later an explosion at the same colliery killed 75.

Rescue & recovery

The men fought the fire for over two hours before retreating; the bodies were recovered by noon.

Memorials & commemoration

The six were buried in a single grave in Worsbrough churchyard.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The deaths were recorded as caused by an explosion. (disputed) ^1,3

Recorded claims

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

• Six men died at Darley Main on 29 January 1847. ^1,2,3
• Blasting with gunpowder set the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit bottom. ²
• The deaths were recorded as caused by an explosion. (disputed) ^1,3
• The ventilation was totally inadequate for the 100 men and boys in the pit, with no division between districts. ²
• All six were buried in one grave in Worsbrough churchyard. ²

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 29 January 1847 blasting with gunpowder set the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit bottom at Darley Main Colliery,…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit bottom at Darley Main Colliery, near Barnsley. After more than two hours trying to put it out the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…before they had to fall back through the smoke. Many reached the shaft safely. Eight came out exhausted but were expected to recover; six…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 29 January 1847 blasting with gunpowder set the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Darley Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Darley Main Colliery Fire - Barnsley - 1847 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Darley Main, 29 January 1847 — Durham Mining Museum

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