Jarrow Colliery explosion, 1845

At about 1 p.m. on 21 August 1845 gas exploded in the Low Main seam of D. Brown's Jarrow Colliery, killing 39 men and boys. Only one of the 36 working in the seam survived; others died of afterdamp in the Bensham seam above, and an overman died trying to rescue them.

Cause

Gas suddenly finding its way into the workings and firing at the naked lights in use.

Contributing factors

A single bratticed shaft serving as both downcast and upcast; naked lights.

What happened

Jarrow worked the Low Main and Bensham seams through a single shaft divided by a brattice, so that it served as both downcast and upcast, and the pit was worked with naked lights. About 75 men and boys were below that Thursday afternoon, 36 of them in the Low Main, where none of the workings lay more than 300 yards from the shaft. There were two explosions a few minutes apart. The one survivor from the seam saw the second coming towards him, very dark and black, and saved himself by throwing himself to the ground; he saw no flame, only smoke and dust.

The air courses were partly wrecked, and the men in the Bensham seam, 120 feet above, suffered from the afterdamp: three men and a boy died there. The deputy Jacob Defty died in the attempt to rescue others. Fathers died alongside sons, among them Thomas Wailes and his son, John Burdis and his son Thomas, and the two John Musgraves. The youngest of the dead was eleven.

Rescue & recovery

The deputy Jacob Defty lost his life in the recovery effort. The miners' representative Mather went down after the explosion and suffered from the afterdamp.

Investigation & inquiry

The miners chose Mather, M. Jude and Horn to press for a full inquiry. The coroner refused Horn's request to adjourn while Mather recovered, and would not let him question witnesses. Lyon Playfair, then sitting on a Government commission into gas in coal mines with Sir Henry De la Beche, inquired into the explosion and reported on 1 June 1846.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

A subscription was raised for the families of the dead.

Changes to practice & legislation

Playfair's report cast doubt on the absolute safety of the Davy lamp and condemned working a colliery with a single shaft.

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 subscription for the sufferers raised nearly £1,700. (disputed) ³
• The subscription for the sufferers raised about £7,000. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion on 21 August 1845 killed 39 men and boys. ^1,2,3
• Of the 36 men working in the Low Main seam, only one was saved; men in the Bensham seam above died of afterdamp. ^4,3
• The explosion was supposed to have come from gas suddenly finding its way into the mine. ^4,3
• The colliery had a single bratticed shaft serving as both downcast and upcast. ⁴
• Lyon Playfair's report on the explosion doubted the absolute safety of the Davy lamp and condemned working a colliery with one shaft. ⁴
• The subscription for the sufferers raised nearly £1,700. (disputed) ³
• The subscription for the sufferers raised about £7,000. (disputed) ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Only one of the 36 working in the seam survived; others died of afterdamp in the Bensham seam above, and an overman died trying to rescue them.”
• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the Low Main and Bensham seams through a single shaft divided by a brattice, so that it served as both downcast and upcast, and the pit was…”
• Deputy (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…suffered from the afterdamp: three men and a boy died there. The deputy Jacob Defty died in the attempt to rescue others. Fathers died…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “Gas suddenly finding its way into the workings and firing at the naked lights in use.”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…survived; others died of afterdamp in the Bensham seam above, and an overman died trying to rescue them.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Jarrow Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Jarrow Colliery (Alfred Pit) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record (Sitelines)
3. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Jarrow, 21 August 1845 — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Jarrow Colliery Explosion - Jarrow - 1845 — Northern Mine Research Society

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