Hyde Colliery Explosion, 1889

An explosion of firedamp in the Two-feet mine at Hyde Colliery on the morning of 18 January 1889 killed twenty-three men and boys, almost all of them by afterdamp. The men worked by naked candle under an agreement made because the pit was believed too well ventilated to hold gas; the inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp in the Two-feet mine, the gas coming from the goaf beside No. 8 level and probably released by a sudden weight coming on to the waste, ignited at a naked candle.

Contributing factors

Naked candles were in use throughout by agreement between management and men, on the view that the pit was so well ventilated that gas hardly showed. Coal dust on the Far Jig Brow was identified as the most dangerous element present, and the inspector attributed most of the loss of life to its ignition. The workings were ventilated by a furnace at the bottom of the upcast shaft.

What happened

At about half past nine on the morning of Friday 18 January 1889 firedamp exploded in the Two-feet mine of Hyde Lane Colliery. Twenty-three men and boys were killed and five seriously hurt. The gas is thought to have come out of the goaf next to No. 8 level, pushed out by a sudden weight coming on to the waste, and to have been lit at one of the naked candles the men worked by. The flame then ran in the coal dust of the Far Jig Brow, and it was the dust, in the inspector's judgement, that turned a gas ignition into a disaster. Most of the dead died not of burns but of afterdamp.

Rescue & recovery

Recovery of the bodies was complete by about ten o'clock that night, when W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector of Mines for the district, reached the colliery from Stafford.

Investigation & inquiry

Atkinson reported to the Home Secretary on 4 April 1889, assisted in exploring the mine and at the inquest by Joseph Dickinson, Inspector of Mines for the Manchester district, and by Mr Sawyer, the assisting inspector for North Staffordshire. The inquest was opened on 19 January by T. W. Johnson, Deputy Coroner for the Stockport and Hyde Magisterial Division of Cheshire, adjourned after evidence of identification, and continued on 7, 8 and 13 February at Hyde Town Hall. The owners were represented by Mr Ellis, solicitor, of Wigan, and Mr Broadbent, solicitor, of Ashton, appeared for the Miners' National Association and the relatives of the dead.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury returned a verdict that the deaths were caused by asphyxia or suffocation from the afterdamp, caused by an explosion of firedamp in the Two-feet mine of the Hyde Lane Colliery on 18 January 1889, and that the explosion was purely accidental. No prosecution is recorded in the sources read.

Changes to practice & legislation

The report's emphasis on coal dust as the agent that spread the explosion belongs to the period in which dust, rather than gas alone, came to be understood as the central danger in British collieries.

Memorials & commemoration

A blue plaque on a surviving wall at the site of the colliery in Hyde records the explosion.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion occurred about 9.30 a.m. on 18 January 1889 and caused the death of 23 men and boys. ^1,2
• The jury found that the deaths were caused by 'asphyxia or suffocation from the after-damp, caused by an explosion of fire-damp in the Two-feet mine of the Hyde Lane Colliery on the 18th January 1889, and that such explosion was purely accidental'. ¹
• The inquest heard that naked candles were used for light by agreement between management and men, because the pit was believed to be so well ventilated that gas hardly showed; the jury heard that gas had been released by a roof fall. ³
• The inquest was opened on 19 January 1889 by T. W. Johnson, Deputy Coroner for the Stockport and Hyde Magisterial Division of Cheshire, and continued on 7, 8 and 13 February. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (hazard involved)
  The inquest found the men died of asphyxia or suffocation from the afterdamp rather than from burns.
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…The inquest was opened on 19 January by T. W. Johnson, Deputy Coroner for the Stockport and Hyde Magisterial Division of Cheshire,…”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Firedamp accumulated in the Two-feet mine and exploded when it reached a naked light.
• Goaf (contributing factor)
  The gas is thought to have come out of the goaf beside No. 8 level, probably pushed out by a sudden weight coming on to the waste.
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the rescue and recovery: “…was complete by about ten o'clock that night, when W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector of Mines for the district, reached the colliery from Stafford.”

Sources

1. (primary) Report to the Secretary of State on the explosion at Hyde Colliery, 18 January 1889, by W. N. Atkinson, HM Inspector of Mines — HM Inspectors of Mines, via Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Hyde, Cheshire, 18 February 1889: disaster transcription (Coal Mining History Resource Centre) — Coal Mining History Resource Centre
3. (secondary) Hyde Lane Colliery explosion, 1889 (pittdixon.co.uk) — pittdixon.co.uk
4. (secondary) Hyde, Greater Manchester (Wikipedia) — Wikipedia

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026