Hebburn Colliery 'A' Pit Explosion, 1889

Date	4 November 1889
Mine	Hebburn Colliery
Region	Tyne and Wear
Type	Explosion
Fatalities	6 dead: shotfirer Andrew Miller (36), shifters James McQuid (52) and Robert Hopps (33), stonemen John Bones (23) and William Welsh (23), and putter Henry Stuart (19).
Context	During active mining
Status	Researched

An improperly stemmed shothole in the Beaumont seam triggered an explosion at Hebburn Colliery's 'A' Pit in the early hours of 4 November 1889, killing six.

Cause

An improperly stemmed shothole, drilled in the lower part of a stone band close to the thin top coal, blew out when fired and ignited gas in the 1st West district of the Beaumont seam.

What happened

At around 1.30am on 4 November 1889, an explosion tore through the 1st West district of the Beaumont seam at Hebburn Colliery's 'A' Pit, then worked by the Tyne Coal Company. Investigators found that a shothole, 1.5 inches in diameter and 3 feet 10 inches deep, had been drilled in the lower part of a stone band close to the thin top coal but left without proper stemming; when fired, the shot blew out rather than breaking the rock as intended, igniting gas in the district and killing six men: shotfirer Andrew Miller, shifters James McQuid and Robert Hopps, stonemen John Bones and William Welsh, and putter Henry Stuart.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest held by coroner R. W. Cooper over three sittings (14, 20 and 28 November) returned a verdict of accidental death, attributing the explosion to improper shot-firing practice rather than intentional misconduct.

Memorials & commemoration

No dedicated memorial to this specific explosion has been identified.

Recorded claims

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

6 men died: Andrew Miller, James McQuid, Robert Hopps, John Bones, William Welsh and Henry Stuart. ¹
An improperly stemmed shothole in the Beaumont seam blew out and ignited gas; the inquest returned a verdict of accidental death. ¹
Durham Mining Museum's own colliery page independently lists this explosion on 4 November 1889 with 6 lives lost. ²

Related terminology

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

Coal (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…drilled in the lower part of a stone band close to the thin top coal, blew out when fired and ignited gas in the 1st West district of the…”
Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…shothole in the Beaumont seam triggered an explosion at Hebburn Colliery's 'A' Pit in the early hours of 4 November 1889, killing six.”
Firedamp (direct cause)
The explosion was caused by an ignition of firedamp underground.
Putter (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…McQuid and Robert Hopps, stonemen John Bones and William Welsh, and putter Henry Stuart.”
Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…rock as intended, igniting gas in the district and killing six men: shotfirer Andrew Miller, shifters James McQuid and Robert Hopps, stonemen John…”

Sources

(primary) Hebburn Colliery "A" Pit Explosion — Hebburn — 1889 — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Durham Mining Museum — Hebburn Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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