Dudley Colliery Explosion, 1875

Date	13 May 1875
Mine	Dudley Colliery
Region	Tyne and Wear
Type	Explosion
Fatalities	2 (George Clasper, 35, and William Davison, 54, both shifters. The Durham Mining Museum records the accident under Cramlington Colliery, of which the Dudley Pit was one.)
Injuries	None recorded beyond the two deaths.
Context	During active mining

Two shiftmen, George Clasper and William Davison, were killed by an explosion of gas in the Low Main seam of the Dudley Pit, Cramlington Colliery, on 13 May 1875. They had been sent with naked lights to lay tramway plates in an old gateway whose ventilation was impeded by a fall, and went further in than the deputy had examined. The Inspector of Mines found want of caution and an imperfect grasp of duties on all sides, and that no special rules had been established at the pit.

Cause

Gas had accumulated in an old gateway whose innermost holing had been blocked up by a fall, impeding the ventilation. The place was being prepared for a stow board, and two shiftmen working with candles or naked lights ignited a small accumulation of gas.

Contributing factors

The deputy who had put in the tram plates examined only the length over which the tramway was to be laid, finding that clear of gas, rather than the whole length of the place. He then sent the two men in with naked lights and went to the outer end where a shot was being prepared; when he called to ask whether they were coming out or staying where they were — where they would have been safe from the shot — they instead went further in. The Inspector added that no special rules had been established at the pit, although it belonged to an establishment of six important collieries, a new manager having just taken over after his predecessor's protracted illness.

What happened

An old gateway in the Low Main seam was being made ready for a stow board. Its innermost holing had been blocked by a fall, so the ventilation through it was impeded. A deputy laid out tram plates for a tramway and examined the length over which he intended to lay it, which he found clear of gas, and then sent in two shiftmen, George Clasper and William Davison, working by candlelight, to lay the way. He himself went to the outer end of the place, where a shot was being prepared, and when it was ready called to ask whether they were coming out or would stay where they were — either would have been safe. They did neither, but went further into the place, where they fired a small accumulation of gas and received the injuries that killed them.

Rescue & recovery

Nothing is recorded of the recovery in the Inspector's account.

Investigation & inquiry

The accident is set out by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the Newcastle-on-Tyne District, in his report for 1875 (C. 1499, page 251), among that year's explosions of firedamp.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

No proceedings are recorded in the sources read. Willis wrote that the whole of the details showed want of caution and a very imperfect knowledge of relative duties and responsibilities on the part of all concerned, and noted that special rules had not been established at the pit; he understood that rules submitted by the late manager had not been sanctioned by his own predecessor.

Changes to practice & legislation

Willis's conclusion on the year's explosions was blunt: they would not have taken place had locked safety lamps been in the hands of the workmen. He allowed that the ventilation was inadequate in each case and that rules and verbal orders had been disobeyed, but returned to the lamps as the decisive point.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial specific to the accident has been identified in the sources read.

Recorded claims

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

George Clasper, 35, and William Davison, 54, both shifters, were killed by an explosion of gas in the Low Main seam on 13 May 1875. ^1,2
Gas had accumulated in an old gateway whose innermost holing was blocked by a fall, impeding the ventilation; the two men, working with naked lights, went further into the place than the deputy had examined and ignited it. ²
The Inspector found that special rules had not been established at the Dudley Pit, although it was one of a very large establishment consisting of six important collieries. ²
James Willis concluded that the explosions of that year in his district would not have taken place had locked safety lamps been in the hands of the workmen. ²

Photographs & further reading

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

1875 Mines Inspectors Report: the Dudley Pit explosion (report)

James Willis's account of how the two shiftmen came to fire the gas, his criticism of the deputy's examination and of the absence of special rules, and his conclusion about safety lamps.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Dudley Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) 1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1499), Newcastle-on-Tyne District, by James Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines, p. 251: explosion at the Dudley Pit, Cramlington Colliery — H.M. Inspectorate of Mines, via the Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 4 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 September 2026