Homer Hill Colliery explosion, 1867

A fall of two to three hundred tons of roof in a stall at Samuel Evers and Sons' Homer Hill Colliery, Cradley, released gas that exploded in the Thick Coal workings on 12 November 1867, killing twelve men over the following fortnight.

Cause

Gas released from soft, fissured coal by a fall of two to three hundred tons of roof in a stall exploded; one record gives the ignition as a lighted candle.

What happened

Homer Hill was a new Thick Coal pit belonging to Samuel Evers and Sons, opened by a pair of seven-foot shafts that reached the Ten Yard seam at 150 yards. Two broad gate roads about 50 yards apart ran some 500 yards to the boundary, and the pit was ventilated by a small fire grate in the upcast shaft about 40 yards down, which gave about 10,000 cubic feet of air a minute but no means of dealing with an emergency.

That morning the workings were examined and forty to fifty men went down. The deputy, Edward Foley, had examined the stall where a fall of roof had happened that morning, but could reach only 25 feet, five or six feet short of the roof, where gas may have been lying. A heavy fall of two to three hundred tons in the stall drove the gas out of a fissured, soft part of the seam, and it exploded about 500 yards from the shaft bottom. A man loading in the Nine Feet workings felt a rush of air and saw the candles blowing, threw himself down, and was burnt as the fire passed over him. A long pillar sheltered most of them from the blast, which wrecked the doors on the cross-headings, killed a horse and fatally injured its driver in the No. 1 road, and drove the cage and rope 70 to 80 yards up the upcast shaft. The burnt men made their way to the shaft; two had to be carried. Twelve died, one that day and the rest over the next fortnight.

Rescue & recovery

The burnt men made their way to the shaft and up it; John Edwards and a man named Guest had to be carried. Sixteen injured were taken home in carts and visited by the colliery owner.

Investigation & inquiry

Inquests were held before the coroners R. Docker, on nine of the dead, and W. H. Phillips at the Bluebell Inn, Quarry Bank, on three. The juries found the men accidentally killed and blamed the fireman for not examining the back opening properly. The inspector, Mr Baker, found the gas had issued from the fissured coal at the fall, and urged that the law be changed to require safety lamps alone in workings of this kind.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The explosion is dated November 1866 by one account. (disputed) ^3,4

Recorded claims

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

• On 12 November 1867 an explosion at Homer Hill Colliery, Cradley, killed twelve men, who died between that day and 26 November; the owners were Samuel Evers and Sons. ^1,2
• The explosion is dated November 1866 by one account. (disputed) ^3,4
• A fall of two to three hundred tons of roof in a stall released gas from a soft, fissured part of the seam, which exploded; the deputy had been able to reach only 25 feet of the stall's height. ²
• The only artificial ventilation was a small fire grate in the upcast shaft about 40 yards from the surface; the blast drove the cage and rope 70 to 80 yards up the upcast. ²
• The inquest juries found the men accidentally killed and blamed the fireman for not examining the back opening properly. ⁴
• The inspector, Mr Baker, urged that the exclusive use of safety lamps be made compulsory in such circumstances. ²

Related terminology

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

• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the workings were examined and forty to fifty men went down. The deputy, Edward Foley, had examined the stall where a fall of roof had…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…boundary, and the pit was ventilated by a small fire grate in the upcast shaft about 40 yards down, which gave about 10,000 cubic feet of air a…”
• Gate Road (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…shafts that reached the Ten Yard seam at 150 yards. Two broad gate roads about 50 yards apart ran some 500 yards to the boundary, and the pit…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…coal at the fall, and urged that the law be changed to require safety lamps alone in workings of this kind.”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “A fall of two to three hundred tons of roof in a stall at Samuel Evers and Sons' Homer Hill Colliery, Cradley, released gas…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Homer Hill explosion, 12 November 1867 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Homer Hill Colliery Explosion - Stourbridge - 1867 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Homer Hill Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Homer Hill Colliery Explosion - Cradley - 1866 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026