MineArchiveJamage Colliery explosion, 1876
| Date | 5 January 1876 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Jamage Colliery |
| Region | Staffordshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 5 (John Daniels, 26, of Red Street, married; Daniel Darlington, 22, of Audley, married with one child; Alexander Macpherson, of Chesterton, single; Patrick Oadam (or Cogan), 37, of Tunstall, a widower with one child; Michael Rowley, 27, of Tunstall, married with three children.) |
| Injuries | None of the men in the Eight Feet seam was hurt; a horse was killed. |
| Context | During active mining (The new Jammage pits of the Bignall Hill Colliery at Talke, worked for about a year and joined by an underground road to the Wedgwood pit where seventeen had died in December 1874.) |
At about half past four on the afternoon of 5 January 1876 an explosion tore through the Seven Feet Banbury seam of the Jammage pits at Talke, killing all five men working there and blowing the cage at the pit head into the headgear. A stopping had been opened to let material down, cutting off the air, and gas that had gathered for hours was fired by a shot in Daniel Darlington's place. The jury called the pit's discipline very lax and asked for gunpowder to be banned where safety lamps were used.
Cause
Firedamp that had accumulated at the north end of the Seven Feet Banbury workings after a stopping was opened, fired by a gunpowder shot in Darlington's place.
Contributing factors
The men habitually opened a temporary stopping to let material down from Darlington's and Macpherson's places, which reduced the ventilation; the Inspector thought gas had been present for up to twenty-four hours, with no examination between seven in the morning and the explosion. Shots were meant to be fired only under the fireman's supervision, but the jury found discipline lax. The dips were steep and the air holes small, and a Waddle fan was still being installed.
What happened
The colliery was new, with two shafts of 10 and 13 feet sunk about 170 yards, coal found only a year before and 101 men employed; eighty-six had worked during the day, and sixteen were below at the time. The five dead were in the fiery Seven Feet seam. The blast smashed the bottom of the shaft through to the furnaces, threw the cage and the plates covering the pit mouth over the headgear, and reversed the air so that afterdamp and smoke came up the downcast. Daniels, working near the shaft, might have lived had he stayed where he was, but was overcome by afterdamp going through a door.
Rescue & recovery
The underground manager Enoch Gater, Mr Benett and the butty Michael Wood went down the old pit about half an hour after the explosion, once the ventilation was restored, and an exploring party of fourteen descended about seven o'clock and recovered the five bodies along the new tunnel. All but Daniels's were badly burnt.
Investigation & inquiry
The inquest opened on Friday 7 January at the Crown Inn, Red Street, before J. Booth, coroner for North Staffordshire, for identification, and resumed on 19 January. Michael Wood said he had never known a shot fired by anyone but the fireman; P.S. Stanton listed what was found on the bodies, including a lamp key on Cogan; H.M. Inspector Thomas Wynne placed the explosion in Darlington's place, from the charring there, and concluded a shot fired there caused it.
Changes to practice & legislation
The jury recommended that gunpowder be prohibited wherever safety lamps were used and that no one but duly appointed firemen be allowed to fire shots.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Five men were killed on 5 January 1876 by an explosion of firedamp caused by gunpowder, recorded in the 1876 Mines Inspectors Report for the North Staffordshire district by Thomas Wynne, H.M. Inspector of Mines. 1
- At about 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday 5 January 1876 an explosion in the Seven Feet Banbury seam of the Jammage pits killed the five men working there; the cage at the pit head was blown into the headgear and those in the Eight Feet seam escaped. 2,3
- The jury found accidental death from gas accumulated at the north end of the workings through the opening of a stopping, fired by a shot in Darlington's place; it urged that gunpowder be prohibited where lamps were used, called the discipline very lax, and recommended that only appointed firemen fire shots. 2
- The fireman is John Sharples in the Coal Mining History Resource Centre account and William Sharples in the newspaper account on Healey Hero. (disputed) 2,3
- One of the dead is Patrick Cogan or Cadam in the Coal Mining History Resource Centre account and Patrick Oadam, 37, in the newspaper account and the Durham Mining Museum list. (disputed) 1,2,3
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Afterdamp (hazard involved)
Daniels was overcome by afterdamp. - Buttyman (contextual relationship)
The butty Michael Wood gave evidence. - Firedamp (direct cause)
Gas accumulated after a stopping was opened. - Fireman (contributing factor)
Shots were to be fired only by the fireman. - Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
Davy lamps were supplied; a lamp key was found on one body. - Shot-firing (direct cause)
A shot fired the accumulated gas. - Waddle Fan (contextual relationship)
A Waddle fan was being installed.
Sources
- (secondary) Jammage Pits, 5 January 1876 — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Mining disasters 1876-77: JAMMAGE, Bignall Hall, Staffordshire, 5th January 1876 — Coal Mining History Resource Centre (Ian Winstanley)
- (secondary) Jamage Pit Explosion 1876 — Healey Hero (John Lumsdon)
Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 13 September 2026