North Biddick Colliery explosion, 1743

Seventeen were killed at North Biddick Colliery, on the Wear at Washington, in January 1743 when men holing a drift into an old waste fired gas, though the drift and waste were full of water.

Cause

The workmen holed into a drift that communicated with an old waste, and the foul air fired the moment the drift was holed.

What happened

At about five o'clock one morning in January 1743 a heavy explosion went through North Biddick Colliery, on the River Wear. The workmen had been holing into a drift that connected with an old waste, and the foul air fired as soon as they broke through, although the drift and the waste were full of water, which writers of the time thought remarkable. Ten men and five boys were killed, and one or two who escaped died afterwards from the effects of the blast. Five of the dead are known by name from the burial register of Holy Trinity, Washington, where they were buried between 7 and 18 February.

What's uncertain

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

• The explosion was at five in the morning on 28 January 1743. (disputed) ^1,3
• The explosion was on 18 January 1743. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Ten men and five boys were killed and one or two more died later, seventeen in all. ^1,2,3
• The explosion was at five in the morning on 28 January 1743. (disputed) ^1,3
• The explosion was on 18 January 1743. (disputed) ²
• The workmen holed into a drift communicating with an old waste, and the gas fired though the drift was full of water. ^2,3
• Peter and Thomas Curry, John Garth, William Hought and Robert Hutson were buried at Holy Trinity, Washington, in February 1743. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…holed into a drift that communicated with an old waste, and the foul air fired the moment the drift was holed.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Seventeen were killed at North Biddick Colliery, on the Wear at Washington, in January 1743 when men holing a drift…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1743 when men holing a drift into an old waste fired gas, though the drift and waste were full of water.”
• Holing (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery, on the Wear at Washington, in January 1743 when men holing a drift into an old waste fired gas, though the drift and waste were…”

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: North Biddick Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) North Biddick Colliery Explosion - Biddick - 1743 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Colliery Disaster 1743 (North Biddick) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026