Oakley pit explosion, 1856

On the forenoon of Monday 21 January 1856 firedamp exploded beneath a scaffold in a newly sunk pit at the Forth Iron Works, Oakley, near Dunfermline. The three colliers working on it to open an ironstone seam were killed, and the blast threw missiles out of the shaft that killed Marion Drysdale, a fifteen-year-old at the pit mouth. The Inspector blamed an unventilated space under a scaffold whose planks had not been made airtight.

Cause

Firedamp from the coal below accumulated in the unventilated space beneath a temporary scaffold in the shaft and was ignited by unknown means.

Contributing factors

The scaffold's planks were not made airtight and an opening in the shaft's midwall let the downcast air pass straight into the upcast, leaving the space below unventilated, in a pit known to give off firedamp. The men had Davy lamps; lamp wicks thrown below the scaffold, or a lamp put under it to fit a water conductor, were suggested as the means of ignition.

What happened

An ironstone seam had been opened about 33 fathoms down, with a scaffold placed so the men could form the ironstone bottom, and the coal seam lay some seven and a half fathoms below. The oversman William Jamieson had been in the pit shortly before and found no foul air, but warned the men to be cautious. The report of the explosion was heard in the neighbourhood like a cannon, and missiles were flung into the air from the mouth of the pit.

Rescue & recovery

Men from the works and the neighbourhood made strenuous efforts, and the bodies were brought out about two hours after the explosion; the three colliers were found at the bottom of the pit.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector of Coal Mines Robert Williams reported that the management had shown a great want of consideration or judgement in neither making the scaffold airtight nor ventilating the space beneath it.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of firedamp on 21 January 1856 killed three colliers on a scaffold in the shaft, James Erskine, Robert Martin and Andrew Mitchell, and Marion Drysdale, a girl of fifteen at the pithead, struck by a piece of wood thrown out of the pit. ^1,2
• Inspector Robert Williams reported that in a newly sunk 85-yard pit giving off much firedamp, a temporary scaffold for working an ironstone band 15 yards above the coal had joints that were not airtight, and an opening in the midwall short-circuited the air, leaving the space under the scaffold unventilated; he called it a great want of judgement by the management. How the gas was ignited was unknown. ²
• The oversman William Jamieson thought old lamp wicks thrown below the scaffold might have fired gathered gas; George Drysdale thought a man had lifted part of the scaffold and put a lamp under it to fit a water conductor. ²
• The Inspector's report gives the pit as owned by the Forth Iron Co.; the Scotsman places it at the Forth Iron Works, about two hundred yards west of Oakley. ²

Related terminology

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

• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contributing factor)
  An opening in the midwall short-circuited the air.
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Firedamp gathered under the scaffold.
• Ironstone (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Dunfermline. The three colliers working on it to open an ironstone seam were killed, and the blast threw missiles out of the shaft that…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and the coal seam lay some seven and a half fathoms below. The oversman William Jamieson had been in the pit shortly before and found no…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  The men had Davy lamps.

Sources

1. (secondary) Oakley Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Oakley, Fife, January 21 1856 — Scottish Mining Website

Record created: 11 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026