Lea Green Colliery explosion, 1888

A gas explosion in the Potato Delf mine at Lea Green Colliery, Sutton, on 4 May 1888 killed William Lunt at once and two more men, Christopher Tharratt and Matthew Mercer, who died of their injuries nine and ten months later. Naked candles were in use, although the Inspector of Mines had advised the colliery to use safety lamps.

Cause

Gas given off after a heavy fall in the waste was carried by the air to the candles of men who were waiting for the roof to settle, and ignited. No gas had been seen on that side of the workings before.

Contributing factors

Naked lights were used because the law then required safety lamps only where gas was known to be present. The managers had been advised by the Inspector of Mines, Henry Hall, always to use safety lamps and had ignored him.

What happened

Lea Green Colliery, on Lowefield Lane in Sutton, St Helens, was sunk in the 1870s. On 4 May 1888 a heavy fall in the waste of the Potato Delf mine released gas, which the ventilation carried to the naked candles of men waiting for the roof to settle. The explosion killed the 26-year-old collier William Lunt, probably the nephew of another William Lunt killed at the pit in January 1887, and injured several more, including Lunt's father and brother.

Two of the injured did not recover. Christopher Tharratt, aged 49, died in February 1889, nine months after the explosion, and Matthew Mercer died in March 1889. Safety lamps were introduced at the colliery afterwards.

Investigation & inquiry

The Mines Inspectors' report for 1888 gave the cause of the explosion as naked lights, and recorded the later deaths of Tharratt and Mercer under the same explosion.

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 records five injured in the explosion and the Sutton history three, including William Lunt's father Thomas and brother John. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of gas in the Potato Delf mine at Lea Green Colliery on 4 May 1888 killed William Lunt, aged 26, and two others, Christopher Tharratt and Matthew Mercer, died of their injuries in 1889. ^1,2
• Gas given off after a heavy fall in the waste reached the naked candles of men waiting for the roof to settle; the Mines Inspectors' report gave the cause as naked lights. ²
• The colliery managers had previously been advised by the Inspector of Mines, Henry Hall, to always use safety lamps and had ignored his advice. ¹
• NMRS records five injured in the explosion and the Sutton history three, including William Lunt's father Thomas and brother John. (disputed) ^1,2
• Christopher Tharratt, aged 49, died on 18 February 1889 and Matthew Mercer on 27 March 1889 of the effects of the explosion. 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: “A gas explosion in the Potato Delf mine at Lea Green Colliery, Sutton, on 4 May 1888 killed William Lunt at once and two more men,…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…nine and ten months later. Naked candles were in use, although the Inspector of Mines had advised the colliery to use safety lamps.”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the contributing factors: “Naked lights were used because the law then required safety lamps only where gas…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…use, although the Inspector of Mines had advised the colliery to use safety lamps.”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Lea Green Colliery (1870s-1964), An Illustrated History of Old Sutton in St Helens — Stephen Wainwright, Sutton Beauty & Heritage
2. (secondary) Accidents and incidents at Lea Green Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 28 September 2026 · Last researched: 30 September 2026