Lambton Colliery explosion, 1766

On 22 August 1766, just after a hundred men had come off work at Lambton Colliery near Chester-le-Street, masons and labourers building a partition underground asked for a lamp to be let down; it fired the gas, and the explosion blew men and horses up the shaft, killing six.

Cause

A lamp let down the shaft at the masons' request, to rarefy the air, ignited the gas.

Contributing factors

Unknown.

What happened

The shift of about a hundred men had just left the workings, and three masons with as many labourers had been let down to build a partition to keep the coal from taking fire. At the masons' request a lamp was lowered to rarefy the air; the air took fire in an instant, and the explosion tore up the pit, destroying men, horses and everything in its path. It was heard more than three miles away, the flash seen like lightning, and the men below were driven up the shaft 'like balls out of the mouth of a cannon'. Neighbours who came to help found only scattered remains; timber and coal covered the ground for acres, and every partition, trap door, corf and prop was swept away, with the winding engine and all its apparatus.

Rescue & recovery

The neighbourhood gathered to help but found only scattered remains around the pit mouth.

Investigation & inquiry

Unknown.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• NMRS adds that it was thought caused by the 'firedamp', meaning the ventilating furnace, after a steam engine had been erected. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• On 22 August 1766 an explosion at Lampton Colliery claimed six lives; masons had asked for a lamp to be let down to rarefy the air, which took fire. ^1,2
• NMRS adds that it was thought caused by the 'firedamp', meaning the ventilating furnace, after a steam engine had been erected. (uncertain) ¹

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…as many labourers had been let down to build a partition to keep the coal from taking fire. At the masons' request a lamp was lowered to…”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  The gas fired at a lowered lamp.
• Headgear (contextual relationship)
  The winding engine and apparatus were swept away.
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…down; it fired the gas, and the explosion blew men and horses up the shaft, killing six.”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…every partition, trap door, corf and prop was swept away, with the winding engine and all its apparatus.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Lampton Colliery Explosion - Chester-le-Street - 1766 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Colliery Disaster: Lambton, 1766 (Local Records, John Sykes (1833), as transcribed by the Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 20 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026