Dunston Colliery explosion, 1893

Late on 24 May 1893 a gunpowder shot fired in the Brockwell seam at Dunston Colliery, near Gateshead, set off a small explosion of firedamp. The putter George Fulthorpe and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens were overcome by afterdamp as they ran for the shaft; two others escaped, one badly burnt.

Cause

A gunpowder shot fired by Lowens in Holmes bord was badly directed and its flame escaped through slippery partings in the ground, igniting a small quantity of firedamp in the winning headways and Whitefords bord, probably gathered there through a displaced brattice.

What happened

At 5 p.m. on 24 May 1893 four men went down Dunston Colliery to blow canch in the South District of the Brockwell seam with compressed gunpowder: Robert Lowens, the foreman stoneman, the stoneman Joseph Atkinson, and two putters, George Fulthorpe and Thomas Courtney. They were the only men in the district that night. At ten o'clock there was the report of a shot, then a rush of air and sparks down the headways that knocked Atkinson and Fulthorpe off their feet.

Both ran for the shaft, but Fulthorpe took a wrong turning through the cloth stoppings and was suffocated by the afterdamp. Lowens, who had fired the shot, got part way down the headways before he too was overcome. Courtney, the most badly burnt, reached the wagon way and got out. The blast blew out brick stoppings and displaced planks at a crossing 700 yards from the face.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector examined the district on 25 May and again the next day. He found that the seam was neither fiery nor dusty, that all the lamps but Lowens's were locked, and that the explosion had started at Holmes bord; firedamp was still present in Whitefords bord. The inquest, before John Graham, coroner for the Northern Division of Durham, was held at the colliery office on 5 July 1893, and the jury found that the men died from accidental suffocation after a gunpowder shot had been fired, without sufficient evidence whether gas or coal dust or both had exploded.

Changes to practice & legislation

The inspector argued that contractors, though they held shot-firers' certificates, were not competent persons within the meaning of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, and that the accident pointed to replacing gunpowder with high explosives, used with proper inspection.

Recorded claims

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

• At 10 p.m. on 24 May 1893 an explosion of firedamp in the Brockwell seam at John Bowes and Partners' Dunston Colliery killed the putter George Fulthorpe (19) and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens (32), and injured two others. ^1,2,3
• The inspector found that a badly directed gunpowder shot fired by Lowens in Holmes bord, its flame escaping through slippery partings, ignited a little firedamp in the winning headways and Whitefords bord, probably gathered there through a displaced brattice. ¹
• Neither man was burnt to death: both were overcome by afterdamp while running for the shaft, Fulthorpe after taking a wrong turning through the cloth stoppings. ¹
• At the inquest at the colliery office on 5 July 1893 the jury found accidental suffocation after a gunpowder shot, without sufficient evidence whether gas or coal dust or both had exploded. ¹
• The inspector questioned whether contractors holding shot-firing certificates were competent persons under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, and urged that high explosives replace gunpowder. ¹

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: “…Fulthorpe and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens were overcome by afterdamp as they ran for the shaft; two others escaped, one badly burnt.”
• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…and Whitefords bord, probably gathered there through a displaced brattice.”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…at Dunston Colliery, near Gateshead, set off a small explosion of firedamp. The putter George Fulthorpe and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens…”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, near Gateshead, set off a small explosion of firedamp. The putter George Fulthorpe and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens were…”
• Stoneman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…explosion of firedamp. The putter George Fulthorpe and the foreman stoneman Robert Lowens were overcome by afterdamp as they ran for the shaft;…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) George Fulthorpe, Dunston Colliery, 24 May 1893 (with the inspector's report on the explosion) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Mining victims, 1890s, F (Fulthorpe) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
3. (secondary) Mining victims, 1890s, L (Lowens) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
4. (primary) Colliery Accident 1893: Dunston, 24 May 1893 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026