Duke Pit explosion, 1844

An explosion of firedamp in Duke Pit, Whitehaven, on the afternoon of 11 January 1844 killed the eleven haggers who had just gone down for the night shift, and ten or eleven of the pit's horses. The pit, the Earl of Lonsdale's, was thought one of the best ventilated in the district, and miners were used to working with the tops off their safety lamps.

Cause

Firedamp ignited by a lamp. The Northern Mine Research Society's account says lamps were used without their caps, and the survivor William McAvery told the inquest that the men worked with the tops off their lamps when there was no danger because they saw better with them off.

Contributing factors

The air was thought pure and the colliery one of the best ventilated in the district. The overman, John Armstrong, had examined the pit and found it in a good state, and said that although he had seen men working with the tops off their lamps he had seen no apparent danger.

What happened

Duke Pit belonged to the Earl of Lonsdale. The day men had just left the workings and the night shift had gone down, about 2 p.m. by one report, when the explosion came at about 4 p.m. The eleven men who were commencing their night work were the pit's haggers, the men who cut the coal, and the whole of them were killed. The blast was heard at the pit mouth. Ten or eleven horses in the pit were also killed, ten by the Herald's count of 20 January and eleven by its first report and the Carlisle Journal's.

The inquest was held at the Public Office in Whitehaven before the coroner, William Lumb, jun. The overman, John Armstrong, identified the dead and described going down with three men and finding bodies strewn over about two hundred yards, three dead horses 50 to 60 yards from the shaft bottom, then Peter Pladdy and another man dead, then the two Atkinsons and the two Robinsons. William McAvery, who had been sitting at the bottom of the shaft with two others waiting to be raised, was knocked down by a blast he described as like a shower of stones, overpowered by the stythe, and found himself at the top; he said the men had all been killed by chokedamp, and that he would have been too if he had stayed where he had been working.

Rescue & recovery

Three men were lowered to find out what had happened, and found the hooker, James Holmes, the stable man and McAvery insensible at the bottom of the shaft; they were hauled up and revived soon afterwards without serious injury. A dog taken down by one of the explorers dropped dead after running a few yards. One by one the eleven men were brought to the pit mouth, identified and taken to their families.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner's jury returned a verdict of accidental death in each case.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of firedamp in Duke Pit, Whitehaven, on 11 January 1844 killed the eleven men in the pit, all of them haggers. ^1,2,3
• Duke Pit belonged to the Earl of Lonsdale and the explosion came at about 4 p.m., soon after the night shift had gone down. ^1,3
• Lamps were used without their caps, and a survivor told the inquest that the men worked with the tops off their lamps when they thought there was no danger. ¹
• Ten or eleven horses in the pit were killed, three of them lying 50 to 60 yards from the shaft bottom. ^1,2,3
• The inquest, before Coroner William Lumb, jun., returned a verdict of accidental death. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Chokedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…a blast he described as like a shower of stones, overpowered by the stythe, and found himself at the top; he said the men had all been killed…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion of firedamp in Duke Pit, Whitehaven, on the afternoon of 11 January 1844 killed…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…and the colliery one of the best ventilated in the district. The overman, John Armstrong, had examined the pit and found it in a good state,…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…district, and miners were used to working with the tops off their safety lamps.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…about two hundred yards, three dead horses 50 to 60 yards from the shaft bottom, then Peter Pladdy and another man dead, then the two…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Duke Pit Explosion - Whitehaven - 1844 (NMRS) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Explosion in Duke Pit: Whitehaven Herald, 13 January 1844 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Colliery Explosion: newspaper report of 20 January 1844 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026