Pelton Colliery explosion, 1866

Twenty-four men and boys died at Pelton Colliery near Chester-le-Street on 31 October 1866 in an explosion of firedamp which the Durham Mining Museum records as ignited by a safety lamp. It was the second disaster at the pit that year: five had been killed by tubs in January.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp, the ignition caused by a safety lamp.

What happened

Pelton Colliery at Pelton Fell had been working thirty years when, on 31 October 1866, an explosion of firedamp killed twenty-four men and boys. The museum records the ignition as having been caused by a safety lamp. Ten months earlier, on 12 January 1866, five had been killed at the same colliery by tubs. The pit worked on until 1965.

Rescue & recovery

Unknown.

Investigation & inquiry

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• The Durham Mining Museum records the explosion of 31 October 1866 at Pelton as firedamp ignited by a safety lamp, with 24 lives lost. ¹
• Pelton had already lost five men in January of the same year, killed by tubs on 12 January 1866. ¹
• Pelton Colliery, at Pelton Fell near Chester-le-Street, worked from 1835 to 1965. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Pelton Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Pelton Colliery (1835-1965) — Co-Curate, Newcastle University

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026