Haydock Colliery explosion, 1845

On 5 November 1845, just after the night shift had come up and nineteen day men had gone down, an explosion at Turner and Evans's colliery at Haydock blew the planks off the shaft, killing thirteen and injuring six. The youngest dead was eight years old.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp.

What happened

The colliery, owned by Turner and Evans and recorded also as Newton Colliery, was worked day and night. The night men had just left the pit, and nineteen of the day workers had already gone down, when the explosion happened; planks lying across the shaft were thrown a considerable distance. Thirteen died and six were injured. Had it come a little later, with the whole day shift below, the loss would have been far greater.

The dead included Peter Fairhurst, 20, of Brick Row; James Greenall, 20, collier; the brothers John and William Harrison, 20 and 16, of Clipsley Row; Thomas Knowles, 15, and Samuel Lowe, 19, drawers; and Richard Urmson, 37, a collier, with his son William, aged 8, of Gibraltar, Newton.

Recorded claims

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

• On 5 November 1845 an explosion at Turner and Evans's colliery at Haydock killed thirteen and injured six. ^1,2
• The night men had just come up and nineteen of the day men had gone down when the explosion happened; planks across the shaft were blown a considerable distance. ¹
• The dead included Richard Urmson, 37, and his son William, aged 8, of Gibraltar, Newton. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…nineteen day men had gone down, an explosion at Turner and Evans's colliery at Haydock blew the planks off the shaft, killing thirteen and…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An explosion of firedamp.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…20 and 16, of Clipsley Row; Thomas Knowles, 15, and Samuel Lowe, 19, drawers; and Richard Urmson, 37, a collier, with his son William, aged 8, of…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…at Turner and Evans's colliery at Haydock blew the planks off the shaft, killing thirteen and injuring six. The youngest dead was eight…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Newton Colliery Explosion - Haydock - 1845 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Haydock, 5 November 1845 — Durham Mining Museum

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