Mostyn Colliery Explosion, 1809

An explosion at Mostyn Colliery, Flintshire, on 10 March 1809 killed twenty-two men — the second disaster at the pit in under two years, after the twenty-six deaths of April 1807. The Durham Mining Museum records the date and the toll and carries a memorial entry; no account of the explosion itself, and no names, have been traced.

Cause

Not established. The Durham Mining Museum's record gives no cause; Wikipedia's account of the colliery calls it an explosion.

Contributing factors

Unknown. Mostyn had a long history of firedamp — explosions in 1673, 1675, two in 1806 that killed thirty-six, the 1807 disaster that killed twenty-six, and a further explosion in 1840 that killed eleven.

What happened

The Mostyn pits on the Flintshire side of the Dee estuary had been worked since the thirteenth century and had a reputation for gas going back to Sir Roger Mostyn's famous account of the explosion of 1675. The explosion of 10 March 1809 killed twenty-two men, less than two years after the twenty-six deaths of April 1807. Nothing of the event itself — where in the workings it began, who was below, how the dead were brought out, what any inquest found — has been traced in the sources read. What is recorded is the consequence: the 1807 and 1809 disasters together killed fifty men, made twenty-six widows and left sixty-six children fatherless.

Rescue & recovery

Unknown.

Investigation & inquiry

Unknown.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

The Durham Mining Museum carries a memorial entry for the 1809 Mostyn disaster.

Recorded claims

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

• Twenty-two men died on 10 March 1809. With the twenty-six of April 1807, the two disasters killed fifty men, created twenty-six widows and left sixty-six children fatherless. ^1,2
• Mostyn's record of firedamp runs from explosions in 1673 and 1675 through two in 1806 that killed thirty-six, and on to an explosion in 1840 that killed eleven. ^1,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion at Mostyn Colliery, Flintshire, on 10 March 1809 killed twenty-two men — the second…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “Unknown. Mostyn had a long history of firedamp — explosions in 1673, 1675, two in 1806 that killed thirty-six, the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mostyn Colliery — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Colliery Disaster: Mostyn, 10th March 1809 — 22 lives lost — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) The miners of Mostyn — Heritage Hunter

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026