Lumley George Pit explosion, 1824

On 25 October 1824 an explosion in the George Pit at Lumley, near Chester-le-Street, killed fourteen, five years after an explosion in the same pit had killed thirteen. In the words of Richardson's Table Book, 'fourteen human beings were launched into eternity'; their names were not recorded.

What happened

Lumley Colliery, worked from a group of numbered pits with the George, Stobbs Hill and West pits, was a gassy colliery with a long record of explosions: thirty-one killed in 1797, thirty-nine in 1799 and thirteen in the George Pit on 9 October 1819, when a roof fall released firedamp that fired at a candle.

Five years later, on 25 October 1824, the George Pit exploded again and fourteen died. The contemporary chroniclers recorded only the number; no names survive in the lists that have been compiled since. The disaster is among those commemorated on the Lumley Colliery memorial.

Memorials & commemoration

The Lumley Colliery memorial, which commemorates the colliery's disasters, includes 25 October 1824.

Recorded claims

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

• On 25 October 1824 an explosion in the George Pit at Lumley, near Chester-le-Street, killed fourteen. ^1,2,3
• Richardson's Table Book records that 'fourteen human beings were launched into eternity'; none of their names is recorded. ²
• It was the second fatal explosion in the George Pit in five years, after one on 9 October 1819 that killed thirteen. ³
• The Durham Mining Museum records a Lumley Colliery memorial for the disaster of 25 October 1824. ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the narrative: “Lumley Colliery, worked from a group of numbered pits with the George, Stobbs Hill…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…in the George Pit on 9 October 1819, when a roof fall released firedamp that fired at a candle. Five years later, on 25 October 1824, the…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…in 1799 and thirteen in the George Pit on 9 October 1819, when a roof fall released firedamp that fired at a candle. Five years later, on 25…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Lumley Colliery George Pit Explosion - Chester-le-Street - 1824 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster 1824: Lumley, George Pit, 25 October 1824 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Great Lumley — Wikipedia
4. (primary) Memorials: Lumley, 25 October 1824 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026