Norton Hill Colliery explosion, 1908

On the night of 9 April 1908 the examiner Charles Burge fired a shot in the roof of the dusty Slyving Vein Incline at Norton Hill Colliery, Midsomer Norton, and set off a coal-dust explosion that killed him and nine others, the youngest fourteen, with five horses.

Cause

A shot fired in a roof hole in the Slyving Vein Incline raised and ignited coal dust.

Contributing factors

The incline, a return airway, was deep in dry dust and roadway shots were never watered; Somerset managers, relying on an 1893 test, held their coal dust non-explosive; naked lights were used throughout; explosives were issued without record.

What happened

Norton Hill's new shaft, sunk from 1902 to 500 yards, was ventilated by a furnace and worked with naked lights. About thirty men were underground on the night shift. A hole had been bored in the roof of the Slyving Vein Incline where loaded trams rubbed. Burge, the examiner and shotfirer, came up without firing it, spoke to the undermanager Attwood on the pit bank, then went straight back down and fired it. The blast raised the dust and the explosion ran through the district. Some of the dead were burnt, some bruised by the blast and others poisoned by the afterdamp. They were Charles Burge, 32; John James Ashman, 34; Andrew Brooks, 27; William Doughty, 20; Ernest Jones, 23, Frank Jones, 41, and Stanley Jones, 16; George Maggs, 20; Henry Sage, 14, the shotfirer's boy; and Gilbert Winsley, 25.

Rescue & recovery

Bodies were brought out that day and the next, 10 April.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest, opened by Dr Craddock on 10 April, sat on ten days between April and June, at the Town Hall, with the Chief Inspector R. A. S. Redmayne attending. The owners argued for gas, the inspector Joseph Martin for dust; evidence emerged that Burge had once seen his candle flare over bubbles, and told no one. Martin's report of September 1908 found an explosion of coal dust and hoped Somerset managers would now accept the danger.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found the ten killed by a coal-dust explosion caused by Burge's shot, but could not decide on conflicting evidence whether he fired it on his own initiative or on the undermanager's orders.

Changes to practice & legislation

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

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 owners attributed the explosion to gas; the inspector concluded it was coal dust. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Ten miners, including a boy of 14, were killed on 9 April 1908, and five horses; about 30 of 380 employees were underground. ^1,2
• The jury found an explosion of coal dust caused by a shot fired by C. Burge in the Slyving Vein Incline, but could not decide whether he acted on his own initiative or on Mr Attwood's orders. ^1,2
• The owners attributed the explosion to gas; the inspector concluded it was coal dust. (disputed) ¹

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (hazard involved)
  Some of the dead were poisoned by it.
• Incline (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Charles Burge fired a shot in the roof of the dusty Slyving Vein Incline at Norton Hill Colliery, Midsomer Norton, and set off a coal-dust…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Naked lights were used throughout the pit.
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “The incline, a return airway, was deep in dry dust and roadway shots were never watered; Somerset…”
• Shot-firing (direct cause)
  The fatal shot was fired in the incline roof.

Sources

1. (secondary) Norton Hill Colliery Explosion - Midsomer Norton - 1908 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) It is the 113th anniversary of the awful Norton Hill Colliery disaster — Midsomer Norton Nub News

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026