Lovers Lane Colliery explosion, 1872

Twenty-seven men and boys died at John Fletcher's Lovers Lane pit at Atherton on 28 March 1872 when a shot blew out its stemming in the Five Feet mine. The air reached the working faces through six iron pipes of about a foot in area each — six square feet of airway in all, for an average length of forty-one yards — and an escape that had been letting extra air into the workings had been stopped that very morning. Ten of the dead were nineteen or younger; five were twelve or thirteen.

Cause

Firedamp ignited by a shot that blew out the stemming in the Five Feet mine, four hundred yards from the pit eye.

Contributing factors

The part of the workings beyond a fault had become foul because the space for the air at the faces was too small. The intake was fifty square feet, but at the faces and crossings all the air had to pass through six iron pipes of about a foot area each — six feet in all, over an average length of forty-one yards — which the inspector found insufficient for the gas being given off. An escape that had been admitting more air to the workings was stopped on the morning of the explosion. The men fired their own shots unless ordered otherwise.

What happened

The pit stood about two hundred yards from Chowbent station, two miles from Leigh and seven from Wigan, and was three hundred yards deep to the Gibfield coal, which had been worked some twenty-seven years; the workings ran towards Tyldesley on one side and Hindley on the other. Upwards of a hundred men and boys were at work in the affected part of the mine, four hundred yards from the pit eye in the Five Feet. The report of the blast was heard two miles away and the news went through Atherton and Leigh at once. Ralph Fletcher junior was quickly at the pit and organised a party to go down; word came back that the workings near the shaft were badly damaged and that getting the men out would be hard. The survivors of the Gibfield mine came up one at a time, some seriously hurt; the dead were laid out in the lamp room and the other pit buildings. The mining engineer Herbert Fletcher told the inquest what it was like below. He went down with Roger Yates and Richard Morris, found a door blown out, and went along the tunnel with the air until three men came groping towards them in the dark, shouting for help and injured. Further on was James Farrington's body — a drawer of twelve, whose father Leigh, a collier of thirty-five, also died — and beyond that three men rolling about under the afterdamp. They lifted them into the airway, went on to look for others, and brought two of the three out; the third was dead. Going down again he heard a lad calling that he could go no further and that his master was below him.

Rescue & recovery

Fourteen men and boys were brought out injured and are named. Among the dead was Peter Pemberton, a collier of twenty-eight who had married two weeks before, and Job Greenough, twenty, who had already been burned once in the Queen Pit explosion at Haydock. Three families lost two members each: the Farringtons, the Hunts and — by the coroner's own reckoning of the verdict — the Hallidays.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest opened at Atherton town hall before J. B. Edge, coroner. Herbert Fletcher and the collier Thomas Coburn described the afterdamp and the shothole in Lee's place. Ralph Fletcher junior told the court that the workmen fired their own shots unless there were orders to the contrary, and that he had dismissed an underlooker about two years before for letting men work where there was gas. The verdict was returned on 'Joseph Halliday and twenty-six others'.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury returned accidental death, with recommendations: that the inspector's suggestion of double roadways and cut-throughs instead of single drifts and long piping be adopted; that the proprietors discontinue the use of gunpowder as far as practicable; and that all shots be fired by the fireman only.

Changes to practice & legislation

The inspector's analysis — that six square feet of iron pipe over forty-one yards could not ventilate a face giving off gas, and that the answer was to drive double roadways with cut-throughs rather than single drifts with long piping — is the technical heart of the record. Taking shot-firing out of the colliers' hands and giving it to the fireman was the other half of the jury's recommendation.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• The inspector found that the workings beyond a fault had become foul because the air space at the faces was too small, and that the ignition was caused by a shot which blew out the stemming. ^1,2
• The intake was fifty square feet, but at the faces and crossings the whole of the air passed through six iron pipes of about one foot area each over an average length of forty-one yards - insufficient for the gas being given off. An escape admitting more air had been stopped on the morning of the explosion. ²
• The jury returned accidental death with a recommendation that double roadways and cut-throughs replace single drifts and long piping, that the proprietors discontinue gunpowder as far as practicable, and that all shots be fired by the fireman only. ²
• Twenty-seven died and fourteen were injured; the coroner's verdict was returned on 'Joseph Halliday and twenty-six others'. ^1,2,3

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…also died — and beyond that three men rolling about under the afterdamp. They lifted them into the airway, went on to look for others, and…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the aftermath: “…gunpowder as far as practicable; and that all shots be fired by the fireman only.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…for help and injured. Further on was James Farrington's body — a drawer of twelve, whose father Leigh, a collier of thirty-five, also died —…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…foul because the space for the air at the faces was too small. The intake was fifty square feet, but at the faces and crossings all the air…”
• Stemming (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Lane pit at Atherton on 28 March 1872 when a shot blew out its stemming in the Five Feet mine. The air reached the working faces through six…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Lovers Lane Colliery Explosion – Atherton – 1872 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Colliery Disaster: Lovers Lane, 28th March 1872 (John Fletcher and Co.), with the inspector's findings and the jury's verdict — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Atherton coal mining deaths, 1852-1962 — Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026