Great Fenton Colliery explosion, 1885

At about 7 a.m. on 8 April 1885 a blown-out shot in the Knowles seam of the Homer Pit at Great Fenton (Stafford) Colliery, Stoke-on-Trent, fired gas that had accumulated at the top of a level. Eight men and boys died, four of them of burns over the following ten days, and five were injured. The coroner's jury recommended that mines be worked without shot-firing as far as possible.

Cause

A blown-out shot, fired by the fireman John Bithel, ignited an accumulation of gas at the top end of a level.

Contributing factors

The shot hole appeared to have been bored too far. The underlooker went through the seam that morning without making an examination. Only about 8,000 of the fan's 120,000 cubic feet a minute reached the Knowles seam, whose upper level, the return, opened straight into the upcast shaft.

What happened

The Stafford Coal and Iron Company's colliery was ventilated by a Waddle fan 45 feet across. The Knowles seam, nearly nine feet thick, was worked from two levels about 200 yards from the shafts, with the top coal left as roof. Powder was taken down in canisters and two or three shots fired a day. William Dale, underlooker at the Homer Pit, went through the seam at about 6 a.m., saw the fireman Bithel there and went on to the Rag mine, where he felt the explosion as a 'suck'. No one in the Rag mine was hurt. The shot, in the place where the brothers Joe and Rob Riley were working, had partly blown out; both brothers died of their burns the next day. The hay in the stables caught fire.

Rescue & recovery

The manager, William Robson, went down the Sutherland Pit and then the Homer Pit, opening doors to clear the smoke, and with Dale reached the far end of the Knowles workings, where the bodies of Edward Forrester and the injured William Forrester were found in the bottom level. David Bannister, overman at the Sutherland Pit, led a party through the Rag mine that recovered the bodies of Beech and Daniels. A party under Mr Greatbatch, the colliery engineer, found gas where the shot had been fired. Henry Rogers brought out the injured Henry Hammond.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest was held at the Railway Hotel, Fenton, by John Booth, coroner for North Staffordshire, with all interested parties represented. A. R. Sawyer, Assistant Inspector of Mines, concluded that a blown-out shot was the cause. After half an hour the jury found that the men died by accident through the firing of a shot.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The inspector, Mr Wynne, wrote that unusually no one had tried to disguise a blown-out shot as the cause, and argued that blasting in mines 'seems to be doomed'.

Changes to practice & legislation

The jury recommended that all mines be worked without shot-firing as much as possible; no change at the colliery is recorded.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• NMRS's heading and county index give seven dead and five injured. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Eight died: Samuel Daniels, James Beech, William Hammonds, Edward Forrester, the fireman J. Bithel, Joe and Rob Riley and Tom Forrester. ^1,2
• NMRS's heading and county index give seven dead and five injured. (disputed) ¹
• The explosion, firedamp ignited by shot-firing, was caused by a blown-out shot. ^1,2
• The jury found the deaths accidental through the firing of a shot and recommended that all mines be worked without shot firing as much as possible. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…seam, whose upper level, the return, opened straight into the upcast shaft.”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Gas had accumulated at the top of the level.
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  The fireman fired the shot and died of burns.
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…William Forrester were found in the bottom level. David Bannister, overman at the Sutherland Pit, led a party through the Rag mine that…”
• Waddle Fan (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “The Stafford Coal and Iron Company's colliery was ventilated by a Waddle fan 45 feet across. The Knowles seam, nearly nine feet thick, was worked…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Great Fenton Colliery Explosion - Great Fenton - 1885 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Colliery Disaster: Great Fenton, 8th April 1885 — 8 lives lost — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026