Gilmerton Colliery chokedamp deaths, 1890

At eleven in the morning of 22 November 1890 two sinkers at the Gilmerton Gas Coal Company's colliery, on the south-eastern edge of Edinburgh, were suffocated by chokedamp. John King, 46, and Thomas Sharpe, 39, died together.

Cause

Chokedamp.

What happened

Gilmerton, worked for coal since the seventeenth century, was in the hands of the Gilmerton Gas Coal Company in 1890, and sinking was under way there. At about eleven o'clock on the morning of 22 November two sinkers, John King and Thomas Sharpe, were overcome by chokedamp, the oxygen-poor air that collects in shafts and old workings, and both were suffocated.

King was 46 and Sharpe 39. The inspector's list records nothing more of the circumstances.

Recorded claims

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

• At 11 a.m. on 22 November 1890 two sinkers, John King and Thomas Sharpe, were suffocated by chokedamp at the Gilmerton Gas Coal Company's Gilmerton Colliery. ^1,2,3
• King was 46 and Sharpe 39. ^2,3
• The colliery was then worked by the Gilmerton Gas Coal Co. Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Chokedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…colliery, on the south-eastern edge of Edinburgh, were suffocated by chokedamp. John King, 46, and Thomas Sharpe, 39, died together.”
• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “Gilmerton, worked for coal since the seventeenth century, was in the hands of the Gilmerton Gas…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…of 22 November 1890 two sinkers at the Gilmerton Gas Coal Company's colliery, on the south-eastern edge of Edinburgh, were suffocated by…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…were overcome by chokedamp, the oxygen-poor air that collects in shafts and old workings, and both were suffocated. King was 46 and Sharpe…”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “At eleven in the morning of 22 November 1890 two sinkers at the Gilmerton Gas Coal Company's colliery, on the south-eastern…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Gilmerton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Colliery Accident: Gilmerton, 22 November 1890 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1890s K: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

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