Orrell Colliery explosion, 1876

On the night of 10 November 1876 a gang sent to blast down roof in a main intake road at Orrell Colliery, near Wigan, fired a second shot that ignited a small pocket of firedamp above the timbering. The explosion fatally injured a fireman and an underlooker and killed thirteen ponies 300 yards away.

Cause

A shot fired to bring down roof ignited a small accumulation of firedamp lodged above the timbering.

Contributing factors

A cavity above the road timbering where a little gas could lodge despite strong ventilation.

What happened

Some roof about eight yards long had to be taken down in one of the main intake air-roads in the Orrell Five Feet seam, and a gang was sent to do it with gunpowder, at night as was the colliery's practice, when the ordinary workpeople were out of the mine. Among them were two firemen and John Greenall, who held a certificate of service as a manager. The first shot, at the upper end, went off safely; the second, an hour later at the lower end, caused an explosion that grew more violent as it passed inbye, fatally injuring Joseph Aspey and Greenall and killing thirteen ponies 300 yards away.

Henry Hall, the inspector, made two careful inspections with his assistant, Mr Hedley, and the colliery's managers. They found about 20,000 cubic feet of air a minute passing along the road, enough to blow out an exposed light, and the only likely place for gas was a space of 30 or 40 cubic feet above the timbering a few yards from the fatal shot. Hall concluded that a very small accumulation of firedamp could start a serious catastrophe, found no irregularity in the management, and judged that blasting only when the workpeople were out of the pit had saved many lives.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector Henry Hall and the assistant inspector, Mr Hedley, made two inspections with the colliery's managers, found ventilation of about 20,000 cubic feet a minute in the road and no irregularity in the management, and traced the explosion to a small pocket of gas above the timbering.

Recorded claims

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

• On 10 November 1876 an explosion during shot-firing in a main intake road at Orrell Colliery fatally injured Joseph Aspey, fireman, and John Greenall, underlooker. ^1,2,3
• The explosion killed thirteen ponies 300 yards away. ³
• The inspector traced it to a small accumulation of firedamp in a space above the timbering near the shot, about 30 or 40 cubic feet. ³
• Blasting was done at night, when the ordinary workpeople were out of the mine, which the inspector credited with preventing a far greater loss of life. ³

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1876 a gang sent to blast down roof in a main intake road at Orrell Colliery, near Wigan, fired a second shot that ignited a small pocket of…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Wigan, fired a second shot that ignited a small pocket of firedamp above the timbering. The explosion fatally injured a fireman and an…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…of firedamp above the timbering. The explosion fatally injured a fireman and an underlooker and killed thirteen ponies 300 yards away.”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…roof about eight yards long had to be taken down in one of the main intake air-roads in the Orrell Five Feet seam, and a gang was sent to do it…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…found no irregularity in the management, and judged that blasting only when the workpeople were out of the pit had saved many lives.”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (primary) Orrell Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) 1870s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
3. (primary) Colliery Accident: Orrell, 10 November 1876 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026