Lakes Pit explosion, Dukinfield, 1866

At about 8 a.m. one June morning an explosion of firedamp in the Black Mine at F. D. P. Astley's Lakes Pit, or Victoria Colliery, Dukinfield, killed 38 of the seventy-odd men and boys below. The pit was worked with safety lamps, but the boys carried naked lights against the colliery's rules.

Cause

Firedamp, with the ventilation failing, ignited at a naked light; boys carried open lights in a mine regarded as fiery.

Contributing factors

Boys working with naked lights against the rules; air not reaching the workings; a single underlooker responsible for the whole mine.

What happened

The downcast shaft, 340 yards deep, reached the Black Mine, and a new ventilating furnace had been working only seven weeks. George Phillips, the sole underlooker, was responsible for seeing the mine free of gas; at least seventy-three men and boys went down under his direction. A man who had been below all night said no air was travelling. About 8 a.m. the explosion came. The inspector, Thomas Wynne, was half a mile away; he went down to find every air door blown down and the air short-circuiting from downcast to upcast, and built a temporary stopping to drive air into the workings so the explorers could advance.

Thirty men were brought out, eleven needing help; thirty-two were dead in the workings, one body eighty yards from the shaft, eleven over the next 240 yards and twenty-seven at the top of the jig brow. Phillips was among them. The dead were wrapped in quilts and sent home in carts, or to a cottage used as a mortuary. Patrick McHugh died at home that Friday, the thirty-eighth. Sixteen widows and thirty-four fatherless children were left.

Rescue & recovery

The inspector Thomas Wynne went down at once, built a temporary stopping to send air into the workings, and the explorers cleared the way and recovered all the bodies by 3 p.m.

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 explosion was on 14 June 1866. (disputed) ²
• The explosion was on 4 June 1867. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion killed thirty-eight. ^1,2
• The explosion was on 14 June 1866. (disputed) ²
• The explosion was on 4 June 1867. (disputed) ¹
• The men were supplied with lamps as it was a fiery mine, but the boys worked with naked lights against the rules. ¹
• The firedamp was ignited by a naked light. ²
• The inspector found all the air doors down and the air going straight from downcast to upcast, and built a temporary stopping. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “The downcast shaft, 340 yards deep, reached the Black Mine, and a new ventilating…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “At about 8 a.m. one June morning an explosion of firedamp in the Black Mine at F. D. P. Astley's Lakes Pit, or Victoria…”
• Haulage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…eleven over the next 240 yards and twenty-seven at the top of the jig brow. Phillips was among them. The dead were wrapped in quilts and sent…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…below. The pit was worked with safety lamps, but the boys carried naked lights against the colliery's rules.”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…38 of the seventy-odd men and boys below. The pit was worked with safety lamps, but the boys carried naked lights against the colliery's rules.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Dukinfield Colliery Explosion - Ashton-under-Lyne - 1867 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Dukinfield, Victoria Pit, 14 June 1866 — Durham Mining Museum

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