MineArchiveHaughhead Colliery explosion, 1867
On the afternoon of Saturday 13 April 1867, after work had stopped at Merry and Cunninghame's Haughhead Colliery, Hamilton, the underground manager James Bryce and a drawer began to remove a stopping built to confine gas from an earlier fire in the soft coal. The pent-up gas reached a miner's lamp nearly thirty fathoms off and exploded, killing all three men.
| Date | 13 April 1867 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Haughhead Colliery |
| Region | South Lanarkshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 3 (3: James Bryce, underground manager, of Haughhead, with a wife and five children; John McKay, drawer, of James Street, Hamilton, with a wife and two children; and James Campbell, miner, of Leechlee Street, a widower.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
Three or four weeks before, foul air had been noticed at the foot of a road in the soft coal seam, which had caught fire, and a bratticing was put up to confine it. When Bryce and McKay removed the stopping, the accumulated gas escaped to the working face and fired at the lamp of James Campbell, nearly thirty fathoms away; the flame travelled back and killed the other two.
What happened
McKay was a member of the Hamilton Thistle Lodge of Free Gardeners; at his funeral the Battalion Rifle Band played the Dead March in Saul as the procession passed through crowded streets to Hamilton New Cemetery.
Rescue & recovery
The manager, Mr M'Nish, went down with half a dozen volunteers. The explosion had destroyed the principal air-courses, and wood had to be taken in and the bratticing temporarily repaired before the search could be made. The bodies, badly mutilated, were brought to the pit bank shortly before six o'clock.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- On the afternoon of Saturday 13 April 1867 an explosion of gas at Haughhead Colliery, Hamilton, killed three men. 1,2
- The underground manager and a drawer were removing a brattice stopping put up to confine gas from a fire in the soft coal seam, and the escaping gas fired at a miner's lamp nearly thirty fathoms away. 1,2
- The colliery belonged to Merry and Cunninghame. 1,2
- The manager, Mr M'Nish, and half a dozen volunteers went down and recovered the bodies after the air-courses had been repaired. 1,2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Bad Air (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s cause: “Three or four weeks before, foul air had been noticed at the foot of a road in the soft coal seam, which…” - Coal (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…a stopping built to confine gas from an earlier fire in the soft coal. The pent-up gas reached a miner's lamp nearly thirty fathoms off…” - Fathom (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the soft coal. The pent-up gas reached a miner's lamp nearly thirty fathoms off and exploded, killing all three men.” - Heapstead (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…could be made. The bodies, badly mutilated, were brought to the pit bank shortly before six o'clock.” - Putter (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “…Colliery, Hamilton, the underground manager James Bryce and a drawer began to remove a stopping built to confine gas from an earlier fire…”
Sources
- (secondary) Hamilton Accidents to 1875 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website
- (primary) Welsh Newspapers: Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser, 20 April 1867, 'Serious colliery accident: loss of three lives' — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
Record created: 13 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026