Outwood Colliery explosion, 1867

Three miners were suffocated by afterdamp at Thomas Fletcher and Sons' Outwood Colliery on 8 May 1867 after an explosion in the Gingham four-foot mine.

Cause

An explosion of gas in the Gingham four-foot mine; the men died of the afterdamp.

Contributing factors

Ventilation throttled by flexible air tubing about fourteen inches in diameter, which let gas overpower the air current in the innermost workings.

What happened

In the Gingham four-foot mine at Outwood Colliery, Thomas Fletcher and Sons' pit, air was being carried to the faces beyond the cut-throughs through flexible tubing about fourteen inches across. Its small area so held back the general ventilation that gas overpowered it in the innermost workings, and on 8 May 1867 it exploded. The miners Benjamin Davenport, 34, Richard Haworth, 27, and John Seddon, 28, were suffocated by the afterdamp.

Recorded claims

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

• On 8 May 1867 three miners, Benjamin Davenport, Richard Haworth and John Seddon, were suffocated by afterdamp at Outwood Colliery. ^1,2,3
• The afterdamp came from an explosion in the Gingham four-foot mine. ^1,2
• Flexible air tubing about fourteen inches across was carrying air to the faces beyond the cut-throughs in several places; its small area so throttled the general ventilation that the gas overpowered it in the innermost workings. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to Thomas Fletcher and Sons. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Three miners were suffocated by afterdamp at Thomas Fletcher and Sons' Outwood Colliery on 8 May 1867 after an…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…were suffocated by afterdamp at Thomas Fletcher and Sons' Outwood Colliery on 8 May 1867 after an explosion in the Gingham four-foot mine.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining deaths 1860-1869, surnames S, part 1 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1860-1869, surnames H, part 2 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (primary) Outwood Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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