MineArchiveMorley Main Colliery explosion, 1872
An explosion of firedamp at Morley Main Colliery, between Dewsbury and Leeds, on 7 October 1872 killed thirty-four people. The Durham Mining Museum records the ignition as caused by a naked light and names the dead; Morley's own histories note that the town's worst mining disaster went publicly unmarked for 140 years.
| Date | 7 October 1872 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Morley Main Colliery |
| Region | West Yorkshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 34 (Thirty-four people were killed. The Durham Mining Museum lists them among the names of those killed at the colliery.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
An explosion of firedamp, the ignition caused by a naked light.
What happened
Morley, a coal-mining town as well as a woollen one, lost thirty-four people on 7 October 1872 when Morley Main Colliery exploded. The Durham Mining Museum, which lists the dead, records the cause as firedamp ignited by a naked light.
Rescue & recovery
Unknown.
Investigation & inquiry
Unknown.
Memorials & commemoration
Unknown in the sources read for this record.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Thirty-four people were killed by an explosion at Morley Main Colliery on 7 October 1872. 1,2
- The Durham Mining Museum records the cause as firedamp, the ignition caused by a naked light. 1
Sources
- (secondary) Morley Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Morley, West Yorkshire — Wikipedia
Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026