Hollingwood Colliery lamp cabin fire, 1857

A fire in an underground lamp cabin at the Staveley works' Hollingwood mine in November 1857 killed twelve men, among them the manager, D. Cooper. Brick stoppings built to smother it exploded the accumulated methane, and the dip workings were then flooded from the Chesterfield Canal, drowning 90 acres of coal.

Cause

A fire in an underground lamp cabin.

Contributing factors

The Deep Soft or Sitwell seam discharged methane from the strata from time to time and was worked as a safety-lamp mine through the 1850s, with a large underground furnace for ventilation. Methane accumulated behind the stoppings built to smother the fire.

What happened

The Deep Soft seam at Staveley was a house coal sent to London and other markets, worked near the outcrop and to the deep from the Hollingwood colliery on Hollingwood Common for Richard Barrow. Because of occasional discharges of methane the mine was worked with safety lamps in the 1850s, and a large sum had been spent on an underground furnace to ventilate it.

In November 1857 a fire broke out in an underground lamp cabin and twelve men died, including the mine manager, Mr D. Cooper. The Derbyshire Times of 21 November reported that on the Sunday morning before, a serious incident had caused the death of twelve men and serious damage to property at the Staveley works.

An attempt to put out the fire with brick stoppings ended in an explosion of the accumulated methane. The workings were then deliberately flooded from the adjacent Chesterfield Canal, and the whole of the dip workings, about 90 acres of coal, were drowned and lost. From then on the mine worked only to the rise, at a level 200 feet above the point where the fire began. In 1858 a single 12-foot shaft, the New Hollingwood Deep Winning, was sunk 218 yards to work the Deep Soft seam to the dip of the drowned ground.

Rescue & recovery

The workings were flooded from the Chesterfield Canal after the stoppings failed.

Recorded claims

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

• A fire in an underground lamp cabin in November 1857 caused the deaths of twelve men, including the mine manager, D. Cooper. ¹
• The Derbyshire Times of 21 November 1857 reported that on the Sunday morning before, a serious incident had caused the death of twelve men and serious damage to property at the Staveley works. ²
• Brick stoppings built to put out the fire were followed by an explosion of accumulated methane, and the workings were then flooded from the adjacent Chesterfield Canal. ¹
• The flooding drowned the whole of the dip workings, about 90 acres of coal, and the mine afterwards worked only to the rise, 200 feet above the point where the fire began. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…were then flooded from the Chesterfield Canal, drowning 90 acres of coal.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…worked near the outcrop and to the deep from the Hollingwood colliery on Hollingwood Common for Richard Barrow. Because of occasional…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and lost. From then on the mine worked only to the rise, at a level 200 feet above the point where the fire began. In 1858 a single…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…methane from the strata from time to time and was worked as a safety-lamp mine through the 1850s, with a large underground furnace for…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…feet above the point where the fire began. In 1858 a single 12-foot shaft, the New Hollingwood Deep Winning, was sunk 218 yards to work the…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Notes on 19th century coal mining at Staveley, Derbyshire (British Mining No. 28, NMRS Memoirs 1985) — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Accidents and disasters — oldminer.co.uk — oldminer.co.uk

Record created: 25 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026