Laffack Colliery explosion, 1854

On 18 January 1854 an explosion of firedamp at the edge of the goaf at Laffack Colliery, St Helens, burned three men fatally, among them a boy, James Marsh. The inspector traced the ignition to an opened lamp and found discipline over lamps lax at the colliery.

Cause

Firedamp at the goaf edge fired at a lamp that had been opened.

Contributing factors

Lax discipline over safety lamps at the colliery.

What happened

Five years after the explosion of 1849, firedamp fired again at Laffack, this time at the edge of the goaf, the worked-out space behind the face. Three were burned to death. The inspector traced the lighting of the gas to the opening of a lamp and remarked that 'discipline with regard to lamps seems to be lax in the colliery'.

One of the dead was a boy, James Marsh. His inquest opened at the Talbot Inn before the county coroner, Mr Driffield, and was adjourned so that the Government Inspector could examine the pit; the verdict was that he died from an explosion of firedamp. The names of the other two were not recorded.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest on James Marsh, adjourned for the Government Inspector's examination of the pit, found that he died from an explosion of firedamp. The inspector traced the ignition to an opened lamp.

Recorded claims

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

• On 18 January 1854 three were killed by an explosion of firedamp at Laffack Colliery. ^1,2
• The inspector found that the men died of burns from an explosion at the edge of the goaf and traced the lighting of the gas to the opening of a lamp. ¹
• The inspector said that discipline with regard to lamps seemed to be lax at the colliery. ¹
• A boy, James Marsh, was killed in the explosion of firedamp; the inquest was adjourned for the Government Inspector to examine the pit. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1854 an explosion of firedamp at the edge of the goaf at Laffack Colliery, St Helens, burned three men fatally, among them a boy, James Marsh.…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 18 January 1854 an explosion of firedamp at the edge of the goaf at Laffack Colliery, St Helens, burned three…”
• Goaf (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 18 January 1854 an explosion of firedamp at the edge of the goaf at Laffack Colliery, St Helens, burned three men fatally, among them…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “Lax discipline over safety lamps at the colliery.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Laffack Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Laffack Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026