Pendlebury Colliery explosion, 1852

A father and his young son, both named W. Seddon, were killed by an explosion of firedamp at Andrew Knowles and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery on 29 December 1852.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp.

What happened

Four days after Christmas 1852 firedamp exploded at Andrew Knowles and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery, near Manchester, and killed W. Seddon and his son, a boy who bore the same name.

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 at Pendlebury Colliery on 29 December 1852 killed two people. ^1,2
• The dead were a father and son, both named W. Seddon; the son was a boy. ¹
• The colliery belonged to Andrew Knowles and Sons. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…by an explosion of firedamp at Andrew Knowles and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery on 29 December 1852.”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…his young son, both named W. Seddon, were killed by an explosion of firedamp at Andrew Knowles and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery on 29 December 1852.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining deaths 1850-1859, surnames S (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
2. (primary) Pendlebury Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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