Eden Colliery gelignite explosion, 1915

Frozen gelignite cartridges, being thawed over an improvised fire outside a cabin near the mouth of a new drift close to Eden Colliery, exploded on the evening of 15 February 1915, killing two men and seriously injuring three others.

Cause

A canister that had held 5lb of gelignite explosive, used by stonemen driving the new Hall's Drift for the Consett Iron Company, had been placed too close to an improvised brick fire built outside the men's cabin to thaw cartridges affected by cold weather; the resulting explosion was described as being 'as if a bomb had burst'.

What happened

The Consett Iron Company was driving a new drift, Hall's Drift, between Leadgate and the Castle Drift, let out to several miners working as contractors; the new working had progressed only about 50 yards underground. Shortly before 5pm on 15 February 1915, with some men finishing their shift and others arriving to start, five men had gathered at a cabin about 50 yards from the drift mouth for their bait. A canister that had held 5lb of gelignite, used for blasting, had been placed too near an improvised brick fire just outside the cabin — cold weather meant some cartridges needed thawing. The result was a violent explosion, with a vivid flash of fire and smoke; miners finishing a rabbit-coursing sweep in an adjoining field heard the blast and saw debris thrown into the air. Rushing to the scene, they found all five men shockingly injured and unconscious, scattered in different directions; Joseph Crowther's clothes were on fire until a rescuer wrapped him in a coat to put them out. All five were carried on stretchers, loaded onto empty tubs, and taken to Eden Colliery, Leadgate; Crowther, 42, and James Brown, 18, were already dead or died on arrival. Dr McKennie of Leadgate treated the three survivors — John Brown, 52; Thomas Wilkinson, 34; and Herbert Willis, 18 — before they were taken by the Consett company's motor cars to Consett Infirmary, where Dr Bratton and the matron, Nurse Mohun, dressed their burns.

Investigation & inquiry

The Consett Iron Company's mining agent, Frederick Octavius Kirkup, and colliery managers Charles Frederick Scott and William Smallwood attended and gave assistance. Neither the contractor nor the manager had provided a proper warming pan for thawing the frozen cartridges; the manager pleaded guilty to the resulting offence and paid costs, with no conviction recorded.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial has been found for this explosion. Joseph Crowther was noted in the contemporary press as a well-known local footballer who had formerly kept goal for Leadgate Park A.F.C.

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…fire outside a cabin near the mouth of a new drift close to Eden Colliery, exploded on the evening of 15 February 1915, killing two men and…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…over an improvised fire outside a cabin near the mouth of a new drift close to Eden Colliery, exploded on the evening of 15 February 1915,…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…for their bait. A canister that had held 5lb of gelignite, used for blasting, had been placed too near an improvised brick fire just outside the…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…put them out. All five were carried on stretchers, loaded onto empty tubs, and taken to Eden Colliery, Leadgate; Crowther, 42, and James…”

Sources

1. (primary) Report of HM Inspector of Mines on the explosion at Brayton Domain (No. 4) Colliery, 26 April 1915 — HM Inspector of Mines, via the Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Two Men Killed and Three Injured, Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 16 February 1915 — Newcastle Daily Chronicle (via Durham Mining Museum)

Record created: 12 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026