North Hetton Colliery boiler explosion, 1864

A boiler at North Hetton (Moorsley) Colliery burst on 30 July 1864, hurling its pieces over the pit village; both firemen and an eleven-month-old child in a nearby cottage were killed.

Cause

A colliery boiler burst.

What happened

North Hetton Colliery at Moorsley, near Hetton-le-Hole, raised its steam from a range of six boilers. On the morning of Saturday 30 July 1864 the third of them, working at 35 lb to the square inch, burst. It was carried in four pieces high into the air and over the roofs of the pitmen's houses, landing 200 to 300 yards away; the boiler next to it was torn from its seat and thrown against the engine house.

The two firemen tending the boilers, Edward Taylor, 17, and William Palmer, were killed; Palmer's body was found in a cornfield some 200 yards off. Sixty yards away a piece of steam pipe came through the roof of a cottage and killed John Wild, a pitman's son of eleven months, sitting in his grandmother's house. Children playing in the street were scalded, and hardly a house in the village escaped damage.

At the adjourned inquest at Hetton, the inspector of mines, J. J. Atkinson, read a paper on his examination of the boiler, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Investigation & inquiry

Adjourned inquest at Hetton before the coroner C. Maynard; the inspector J. J. Atkinson examined the boiler and reported on it.

Recorded claims

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

• On the morning of Saturday 30 July 1864 one of six boilers at North Hetton (Moorsley) Colliery burst, killing the two firemen attending it and an eleven-month-old child in a nearby cottage. ^1,2,3,4
• The firemen were Edward Taylor, 17, and William Palmer, about 19; the child was John Wild, son of a pitman. ^5,1,6
• The boiler was thrown in four pieces over the pitmen's houses to distances of 200 to 300 yards, and the body of one fireman was found in a cornfield about 200 yards away. ^2,3,6
• The child was killed when a piece of steam pipe crashed through the roof of his grandmother's cottage, sixty yards from the boiler; other children in the street were scalded. ^2,3
• The boiler had been working at 35 lb to the square inch. ²
• The adjourned inquest at Hetton, attended by the inspector J. J. Atkinson, returned a verdict of accidental death. ⁶

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “A boiler at North Hetton (Moorsley) Colliery burst on 30 July 1864, hurling its pieces over the pit village; both…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the boiler next to it was torn from its seat and thrown against the engine house. The two firemen tending the boilers, Edward Taylor, 17, and…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the village escaped damage. At the adjourned inquest at Hetton, the inspector of mines, J. J. Atkinson, read a paper on his examination of the boiler, and…”

Sources

1. (primary) Colliery accident, North Hetton, 30 July 1864 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Boiler Explosion (The Times, 2 August 1864), transcribed — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) Shocking Boiler Explosion (Newcastle Guardian, 6 August 1864), transcribed — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Mining deaths 1860-1869, surnames P, part 1 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
5. (primary) North Hetton Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
6. (primary) Fatal Boiler Explosion At Moorsley Colliery (Newcastle Guardian, 13 August 1864), transcribed — Durham Mining Museum

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