Newbottle Colliery boiler explosion, 1832

A steam-engine boiler on Lord Durham's colliery railway at Philadelphia, Newbottle, exploded on the morning of 15 June 1832 while men were repairing it, wrecking the engine house and killing at least eight people, among them children of a family living nearby.

Cause

A steam engine boiler on Lord Durham's railway exploded while workmen were repairing it.

What happened

Between six and seven on the morning of 15 June 1832, at Philadelphia on the Earl of Durham's Newbottle Colliery, the boiler of a steam engine on his lordship's railway exploded while workmen were repairing it. The boiler and large pieces of metal pipe were thrown a great distance, the machine house was blown down and torn to its foundations, and stones and bricks were scattered all around. Five people were killed and thirteen badly hurt, three of whom soon died. Among the dead were an old man, Joseph Sheldon, and three children of Robert and Mary Sheldon, who were buried at Houghton-le-Spring on 17 June.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Twelve lives were lost in the boiler explosion at Newbottle on 15 June 1832. (uncertain) ¹
• An explosion at Newbottle, Fencehouses, on 15 June 1832 was reported to the Select Committee on Accidents in Coal Mines (1852-3) as having cost seventy lives. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• On 15 June 1832 a steam engine boiler on Lord Durham's rail road at Philadelphia, Newbottle Colliery, exploded while workmen were repairing it; five were killed and thirteen bruised, three of whom died. ¹
• Twelve lives were lost in the boiler explosion at Newbottle on 15 June 1832. (uncertain) ¹
• An explosion at Newbottle, Fencehouses, on 15 June 1832 was reported to the Select Committee on Accidents in Coal Mines (1852-3) as having cost seventy lives. (disputed) ²
• Joseph Sheldon, 87, and Elizabeth (six months), Joseph (8) and Mary Ann (6) Sheldon, children of Robert and Mary Sheldon, none of them employed, were killed and buried at Houghton-le-Spring on 17 June 1832. ¹

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: “A steam-engine boiler on Lord Durham's colliery railway at Philadelphia, Newbottle, exploded on the morning of 15…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…morning of 15 June 1832 while men were repairing it, wrecking the engine house and killing at least eight people, among them children of a family…”
• Mineral Royalty (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…of Durham's Newbottle Colliery, the boiler of a steam engine on his lordship's railway exploded while workmen were repairing it. The boiler and…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Disaster 15 June 1832, Newbottle — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Newbottle Colliery Explosion - Fencehouses - 1832 - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026