Heys Colliery explosion, 1851

On 17 March 1851 an explosion of firedamp at John Kenworthy and Brothers' Heys Colliery, Ashton-under-Lyne, killed one man outright and injured eight, five of whom died. Six years later the same colliery lost forty men in a single explosion.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp.

What happened

The explosion is recorded in the report of the inspector, Joseph Dickinson, for 1851. One man was killed at once and eight were injured; five of the injured later died, bringing the deaths to six. Only one of the dead, J. Ogden, is named. The colliery's New Mine seam exploded again on 31 July 1857, killing forty.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion of firedamp on 17 March 1851 killed one man and injured eight, five of whom died. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to John Kenworthy and Brothers. ^1,2
• J. Ogden was among those killed by the explosion of firedamp. 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: “…1851 an explosion of firedamp at John Kenworthy and Brothers' Heys Colliery, Ashton-under-Lyne, killed one man outright and injured eight, five…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On 17 March 1851 an explosion of firedamp at John Kenworthy and Brothers' Heys Colliery, Ashton-under-Lyne,…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Heys Colliery Explosion - Ashton-under-Lyne - 1851 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Heys, 17 March 1851 — Durham Mining Museum

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