North Gawber Colliery explosion, 1861

A miner carried a lighted candle into the goaf at North Gawber Colliery, near Barnsley, on 4 February 1861 just after a roof fall had set gas free; three men were burned and two died.

Date	4 February 1861
Mine	North Gawber Colliery
Region	South Yorkshire
Type	Explosion
Fatalities	2 (Two killed: James Kerrigan and Charles Smith.)
Injuries	A third man burned; he recovered.
Context	During active mining

Scrubland grown over with birch trees on the site of North Gawber Colliery, an orange birch bolete in the foreground — The colliery site in 2009 John Fielding, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cause

Gas set free by a fall of roof in the goaf, fired by a lighted candle.

What happened

On 4 February 1861 a fall of roof in the Thick Coal at Thorpe and Company's North Gawber Colliery, near Barnsley, unexpectedly released gas into the goaf. One of three miners nearby went into the goaf with a lighted candle and fired it. All three were burned; James Kerrigan and Charles Smith died and the third man recovered.

The inspector for the district wrote that nearly all the terrible explosions around Barnsley had come from naked lights in the Thick Coal, and that only powerful ventilation, strict discipline and the best safety lamps would prevent more.

Investigation & inquiry

Described by the inspector of mines, Charles Morton, in his report for 1861.

Recorded claims

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

On 4 February 1861 an explosion of firedamp at North Gawber Colliery, near Barnsley, burned three men; James Kerrigan and Charles Smith died and the third recovered. ^1,2,3
A fall of roof in the Thick Coal released gas unexpectedly, and one of the three entered the goaf with a lighted candle and fired it. ³
The inspector wrote that nearly all the great explosions of the Barnsley district came from naked lights in that seam. ³
The colliery belonged to Thorpe and Co. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

Goaf (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “A miner carried a lighted candle into the goaf at North Gawber Colliery, near Barnsley, on 4 February 1861 just…”
HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s investigation: “Described by the inspector of mines, Charles Morton, in his report for 1861.”
Naked Light (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…nearly all the terrible explosions around Barnsley had come from naked lights in the Thick Coal, and that only powerful ventilation, strict…”
Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Gawber Colliery, near Barnsley, on 4 February 1861 just after a roof fall had set gas free; three men were burned and two died.”
Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…and that only powerful ventilation, strict discipline and the best safety lamps would prevent more.”

Sources

(primary) North Gawber Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) Mining victims, 1860s, S (Shield) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
(primary) Colliery accident, North Gawber, 4 February 1861 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026