Redheugh Colliery shot accident, 1900

Two stonemen went back to a gunpowder shot that seemed to have hung fire at Redheugh Colliery, Gateshead, on 23 March 1900, and it went off as they reached it.

Cause

A gunpowder shot fired by a squib hung fire and exploded as the men returned to it.

What happened

On 23 March 1900 two stonemen at Redheugh Colliery, on the Tyne at Gateshead, fired a gunpowder shot with a squib in a top caunch. When it seemed to hang fire, Walter Young and John Patterson went back to it, leaving their lamps behind them. The charge exploded just as they reached it. Young was killed on the spot and Patterson died later of his injuries.

Recorded claims

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

• On 23 March 1900 two stonemen at Redheugh Colliery, Walter Young, 58, and John Patterson, 22, were killed by a gunpowder shot that they thought had hung fire. ^1,2
• The shot was fired by a squib in a top caunch; when it seemed to hang fire both men went back to it, leaving their lamps behind, and it exploded as they reached it. ^1,2
• Young was killed on the spot; Patterson died later of his injuries. ^1,2
• An inspection was made and the inquest attended. ^1,2

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: “…back to a gunpowder shot that seemed to have hung fire at Redheugh Colliery, Gateshead, on 23 March 1900, and it went off as they reached it.”

Sources

1. (primary) Redheugh Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames P, part 2 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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