Drumpellier Colliery explosion, 1898

At about 5.10 p.m. on 28 January 1898, as two brushers and the night fireman prepared a shot in the engine dook of the Summerlee and Mossend company's Drumpellier Colliery, Coatbridge, a charge of gunpowder, not the permitted roburite, fired the thick coal dust. All three were killed, and the day fireman John Gordon died of afterdamp in the search. The inquiry found the cause to be 'a shot of gunpowder igniting coal dust'.

Cause

The dook was a dry, dusty main haulage road; fine coal dust lay several inches thick on the floor and clung to the timbering and sides, and the only attempt to lay it was a hose run down between the rails every other day. A shot of gunpowder, not the permitted explosive roburite, was fired in the side of the dook and ignited the dust. The inspectors ruled out firedamp: the brushers had drilled and charged the hole with open lights, and fresh air from the downcast swept past it.

Contributing factors

The colliery was worked entirely with open lights. The manager had arranged for the night fireman to fire the shot after watering the dook for 20 yards each side, but the brushers went down with a parcel that Ward's family said held 4 1/2 lb of compressed gunpowder, nearly an hour ahead of the shot-firer.

What happened

The colliery was an old one: its winding shaft was 118 fathoms deep to the Kiltongue coal, nearly exhausted by stoop and room, and 80 people worked below. A miner had opened a new place off the side of the engine dook the night before, and the manager set Ward and Chalmers to brush the roof there before the night shift. At about 5.10 p.m. the winding engineman saw black smoke vomit from the downcast and then the upcast shaft. George Davidson, the day fireman of the rise workings, felt the blast in the east section, groped his way out and was raised by the other shaft.

Rescue & recovery

The manager, Thomas Goldie, and others went down about 6 p.m.; a heavy fall at the top of the dook blocked the intake, and he and John Gordon tried to reach the men up the return airway with naked lights. After some 60 yards the afterdamp overcame them; the agent, David Mowat, and others rescued Goldie, several becoming insensible themselves, but Gordon, a few yards ahead, was lost. About midnight, after two falls had been cleared, the bodies of Ward, Chalmers and Drummond were found some 60 yards above the shot, badly burned; Gordon's was found at two or three the next morning.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspectors J. M. Ronaldson and Henry Hall reported on the explosion, and a fatal accident inquiry was held at Airdrie on 25 February 1898. The jury found 'that the explosion was caused by a shot of gunpowder igniting coal dust'; the inspectors were 'entirely in accord', two chemists having shown by analysis that only gunpowder could have been used, which the physical effects of the shot confirmed.

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 inspectors placed the explosion in Nos. 3 and 4 pits. (disputed) ¹
• Contemporary newspaper reports placed it in No. 11 pit, Drumpellier. (disputed) ^1,2,3,4

Recorded claims

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

• On 28 January 1898 an explosion at Drumpellier Colliery, Coatbridge, killed the three men in the dook section and a fireman of the search party. ^1,2,3
• The fatal accident inquiry at Airdrie on 25 February 1898 found that the explosion was caused by a shot of gunpowder igniting coal dust, and the inspectors agreed. ¹
• The brushers had been told that roburite was to be used and that the appointed shot-firer was to fire it; analysis showed the shot had been gunpowder. ¹
• The inspectors placed the explosion in Nos. 3 and 4 pits. (disputed) ¹
• Contemporary newspaper reports placed it in No. 11 pit, Drumpellier. (disputed) ^1,2,3,4

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…dust. All three were killed, and the day fireman John Gordon died of afterdamp in the search. The inquiry found the cause to be 'a shot of…”
• Dook (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…as two brushers and the night fireman prepared a shot in the engine dook of the Summerlee and Mossend company's Drumpellier Colliery,…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “At about 5.10 p.m. on 28 January 1898, as two brushers and the night fireman prepared a shot in the engine dook of the Summerlee and Mossend…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the rescue and recovery: “…down about 6 p.m.; a heavy fall at the top of the dook blocked the intake, and he and John Gordon tried to reach the men up the return airway…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “At about 5.10 p.m. on 28 January 1898, as two brushers and the night fireman prepared a shot in the engine dook of the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Drumpeller 1898 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (primary) Welsh Newspapers: Evening Express, 29 January 1898, 'Colliery explosion at Coatbridge' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Welsh Newspapers: Evening Express, 31 January 1898, 'The explosion at Coatbridge' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Welsh Newspapers: South Wales Echo, 29 January 1898, 'Colliery explosion' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026