Emma Colliery gas explosion, 1870

On 8 July 1870 an explosion of gas at the Emma pit of the Stella Coal Company's Towneley Colliery, near Ryton, killed two young putters, George Dobson and Edward Robson.

Date	8 July 1870
Mine	Emma Colliery
Region	Tyne and Wear
Type	Explosion
Fatalities	2 (George Dobson, 18, and Edward Robson, 19, putters.)
Context	During active mining

Cause

An explosion of gas.

What happened

Emma began as a pit of the Stella Coal Company's Towneley Colliery, and the accident lists record the explosion under Townley. George Dobson, 18, and Edward Robson, 19, both putters, were killed by the explosion of gas.

Recorded claims

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

An explosion of gas on 8 July 1870 killed two putters, George Dobson and Edward Robson. ^1,2,3
The accident lists record it at Townley, the Stella Coal Company's colliery of which Emma was a pit. ^2,3
The colliery belonged to the Stella Coal Co. ^1,3

Related terminology

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

Coal (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 8 July 1870 an explosion of gas at the Emma pit of the Stella Coal Company's Towneley Colliery, near Ryton, killed two young putters,…”
Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…of gas at the Emma pit of the Stella Coal Company's Towneley Colliery, near Ryton, killed two young putters, George Dobson and Edward…”
Putter (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Coal Company's Towneley Colliery, near Ryton, killed two young putters, George Dobson and Edward Robson.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Durham Mining Museum: Townley, 1870 (reference)

The two putters killed by the explosion.

View source

Ian Winstanley's victim list, 1870-79 (D) (reference)

George Dobson's entry, 'Townley, Stella Coal Co., Blaydon'.

View source

Sources

(primary) Durham Mining Museum - Emma Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Durham Mining Museum: Townley, 8 July 1870, explosion — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) Ian Winstanley, alphabetical list of mining victims: 1870-79, D (Dobson) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley collection)

Record created: 29 September 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026