Killingworth Colliery explosion, 1806

An explosion at Killingworth Colliery on 28 March 1806 killed ten men; George Stephenson, then the pit's engineman, watched it blow from the shaft.

Cause

Firedamp. Stephenson blamed the want of a ventilating furnace, and the wetness of the upcast shaft, which had cut the air; at the inquest it appeared that a man had taken gunpowder and candles into the workings against orders.

What happened

The pit had just stopped drawing coal for the day and most of the men had come up when, a little after midday on 28 March 1806, five men went down: four to prepare a place for a ventilating furnace and one to set them to work. George Stephenson, the engineman, had sent the last man down himself and had walked fifty or sixty yards from the pit mouth when he heard the explosion and saw the blast come out of the shaft like the discharge of a cannon. It went on blowing for about a quarter of an hour, throwing up wood, stones and trusses of hay.

The shaft, fourteen feet across, was divided into four by brattice partitions. The explosion began in one quarter but broke through into the others at the bottom and set the brattice on fire, wrecked the ropes in the first shaft and lifted the great pumps from their places. Men in a neighbouring pit joined to this one by a drift escaped, and some were drawn up by running the rope up and down the shaft for anyone below to catch. Four of the five who had gone down were found at the shaft bottom among corves; the underlooker had thrown himself behind a pillar and, his clothes nearly burned off, came up on the rope.

The pit went on firing every two or three hours for two days with the coal alight. The workings were flooded to put out the fire, using fire engines brought from Newcastle, and the bodies were not recovered for twenty-three or twenty-four weeks. Stephenson put the cost at £20,000, besides the loss of life.

Rescue & recovery

Men at the bottom of the shafts were drawn up by running the rope down for them to catch. The fire was put out by flooding the workings, and the bodies were recovered after about twenty-four weeks.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion at Killingworth Colliery on 28 March 1806 killed ten men. ^1,2
• George Stephenson, the engineman, witnessed the explosion from near the pit mouth and later described it in evidence. ^1,2
• Stephenson ascribed the explosion to the want of a ventilating furnace; the five men who went down were preparing a place for one. ^1,2
• The burning workings were flooded and the bodies were not recovered for twenty-three or twenty-four weeks. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Atmospheric Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…coal alight. The workings were flooded to put out the fire, using fire engines brought from Newcastle, and the bodies were not recovered for…”
• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…of hay. The shaft, fourteen feet across, was divided into four by brattice partitions. The explosion began in one quarter but broke through…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…blamed the want of a ventilating furnace, and the wetness of the upcast shaft, which had cut the air; at the inquest it appeared that a man had…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…from their places. Men in a neighbouring pit joined to this one by a drift escaped, and some were drawn up by running the rope up and down the…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Stephenson, then the pit's engineman, watched it blow from the shaft.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Killingworth Colliery Explosion - Killingworth - 1806 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster 1806: Killingworth — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 7 October 2026 · Last researched: 7 October 2026