Fatfield Colliery explosion, 1708

At three o'clock in the morning of 18 August 1708 fire burst from the mouths of three pits at Fatfield, on the Wear near Chester-le-Street, with a noise like cannon, and 69 people died. Two men and a woman were blown up the 342-foot shaft and thrown clear of the pit.

Cause

Firedamp gathered in a pit standing in an eddy of the natural ventilation, fired at an overman's candle.

Contributing factors

Ventilation by natural air currents only, at the mercy of the weather; a gassy pit approached with a naked light.

What happened

The pits were ventilated only by the natural movement of air, the viewer trying to keep a current going down one shaft and up another. One pit stood in an eddy where the air could not always pass, and in hot, sultry weather it filled with 'sulphur', firedamp. That August the men had been withdrawn from it for safety. Some days later an overman, perhaps thinking the cool, frosty breeze of that morning had cleared the workings, went too near it as the gas was dispersing, and it fired at his candle.

The blast threw the heavy winding engine aside, and fish in a stream about twenty yards from one of the pits were found dead on the surface. The account was published in the Philosophical Transactions.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion at three o'clock on the morning of 18 August 1708 killed sixty-nine. ^1,2
• Two men and a woman were blown from the bottom of the 342-foot shaft and carried some distance from the pit mouth. ^1,2
• An overman went too near a pit standing in an eddy of the air, and the firedamp took fire at his candle. ^1,2
• Fish in a stream near one of the pits were found dead. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “Firedamp gathered in a pit standing in an eddy of the natural ventilation,…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…only, at the mercy of the weather; a gassy pit approached with a naked light.”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…in a pit standing in an eddy of the natural ventilation, fired at an overman's candle.”
• Viewer (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “The pits were ventilated only by the natural movement of air, the viewer trying to keep a current going down one shaft and up another. One…”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…dispersing, and it fired at his candle. The blast threw the heavy winding engine aside, and fish in a stream about twenty yards from one of the pits…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Fatfield Colliery Explosion - Chester-le-Street - 1708 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Fatfield, 18 August 1708 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026