Pendlebury Colliery fire, 1872

Six men and boys were suffocated at Andrew Knowles and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery on 6 November 1872 when a burning brattice cloth set the coal alight and cut off their way out.

Cause

A brattice cloth set alight by three miners in some unexplained manner; the fire spread rapidly to the coal.

What happened

On 6 November 1872 a brattice cloth in Pendlebury Colliery, Andrew Knowles and Sons' pit near Manchester, was set on fire by three miners in some unexplained manner. The fire spread to the coal so quickly that the retreat of the men and boys working beyond it was cut off, and six were suffocated: the miners Elias Booth and John Schofield, the filler Charles Marsh, and three waggoners, Hiram Booth, David Chilton and William Tyldesley, the youngest fifteen. The fire ran 85 yards up the brow and along both levels before it was put out with water, at a cost of £1,500 in wages and materials.

Rescue & recovery

The fire was extinguished with water after spreading 85 yards up the brow and 20 and 50 yards along the two levels, at a cost of £1,500 in wages and materials.

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 November 1872 six men and boys were suffocated by an underground fire at Pendlebury Colliery, near Manchester. ^1,2
• A brattice cloth was set on fire by three miners in some unexplained manner, and the fire spread so rapidly to the coal that the retreat of those working beyond it was cut off. ^1,2
• The fire spread 85 yards up the brow, 20 yards along the right-hand level and 50 yards along the left before it was put out with water, at a cost of £1,500 in wages and materials. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to Andrew Knowles and Sons. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…and Sons' Pendlebury Colliery on 6 November 1872 when a burning brattice cloth set the coal alight and cut off their way out.”
• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery on 6 November 1872 when a burning brattice cloth set the coal alight and cut off their way out.”
• Filler (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…six were suffocated: the miners Elias Booth and John Schofield, the filler Charles Marsh, and three waggoners, Hiram Booth, David Chilton and…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…youngest fifteen. The fire ran 85 yards up the brow and along both levels before it was put out with water, at a cost of £1,500 in wages and…”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Elias Booth and John Schofield, the filler Charles Marsh, and three waggoners, Hiram Booth, David Chilton and William Tyldesley, the youngest…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining victims, 1870s, C (Carter) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (primary) Pendlebury Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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