MineArchiveRipley Colliery explosion, 1857
| Date | 5 and 10 October 1857 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Ripley Colliery |
| Region | Derbyshire |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 6 (Six in the inspector's account: the museum lists five on 10 October (William Bullock, 34; George William Bunting, 30; Henry Iven, 14; Samuel Shooter, 14; William Walters, 38) and George Gyte, 23, on 5 October.) |
| Injuries | Not recorded in the sources read. |
| Context | During active mining (A Butterley Company pit at Ripley in the first years of the Inspectorate, driving a bratticed rise heading 160 yards up the dip.) |
A nine-foot heading driven 160 yards to the rise at Ripley Colliery was ventilated by a brick-and-lime brattice up its middle. The under-viewer had a hole broken through the brattice a hundred yards from the face and never saw that a door was fixed in it, so the hundred yards of heading beyond filled with gas. It exploded twice in October 1857 and killed six men, four of them on the 10th with George Gyte dying of the first explosion on the 5th. The inspector, John Hedley, prosecuted the under-viewer and the deputy and the magistrates convicted both.
Cause
Firedamp accumulated in a rise heading after a hole was broken through its ventilating brattice without a door, and was fired, the deputy having tested for gas with a naked light.
Contributing factors
No door fixed at the hole; no adequate ventilation in the heading; no order to use safety lamps despite the known accumulation; no danger signal placed at the heading's entrance.
What happened
The heading was nine feet wide, driven 160 yards to the rise, and bratticed up its middle with bricks and lime to carry the air to the face and back. The under-viewer ordered a hole broken through the brattice a hundred yards short of the face and neglected to see a door fixed in it; the air short-circuited and the hundred yards beyond filled with gas. Two explosions followed, the first on 5 October killing George Gyte, a miner of 23, the second on 10 October killing William Bullock and George William Bunting, miners, William Walters, and two trammers of fourteen, Henry Iven and Samuel Shooter. Hedley wrote that six poor men were killed by the two explosions.
Rescue & recovery
Not recorded in the sources read.
Investigation & inquiry
John Hedley, the Inspector of Mines, reported the case in his 1857 report and, on the Home Secretary's instructions, prosecuted the under-viewer for three breaches of the rules, no door, no adequate ventilation and no order to use safety lamps, and the deputy for two, no danger signal at the heading and trying for gas with a naked light. The magistrates convicted in every case.
Legal & regulatory aftermath
Both officials were convicted before the magistrates; the penalties are not given in the extract read. Hedley recorded that the Butterley Company and its viewer, Mr Bean, felt the loss deeply and were anxious that discipline at the company's numerous collieries should prevent such accidents.
Changes to practice & legislation
None recorded beyond the prosecutions, which were among the early uses of the 1855 Act's rules against colliery officials.
Memorials & commemoration
None known.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- A hole broken through the brattice of a 160-yard rise heading without a door let a hundred yards of it fill with gas, which exploded twice; the deputy had tried for gas with a naked light. 1
- Six killed: George Gyte on 5 October and William Bullock, George William Bunting, Henry Iven, Samuel Shooter and William Walters on 10 October 1857. 2,1,3
- Inspector Hedley prosecuted the under-viewer on three counts and the deputy on two, and the magistrates convicted in every case. 1
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Brattice (direct cause)
The hole through the brattice without a door short-circuited the air. - Firedamp (direct cause)
Gas accumulated behind a breached brattice. - Naked Light (contributing factor)
The deputy tried for gas with a naked light and no safety lamps were ordered. - Safety Lamp (contributing factor)
Not ordered despite the known accumulation, one of the counts against the under-viewer. - Viewer (contextual relationship)
Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…was ventilated by a brick-and-lime brattice up its middle. The under-viewer had a hole broken through the brattice a hundred yards from the face…”
Sources
- (primary) Ripley Colliery explosion, 10 October 1857 — Durham Mining Museum (1857 Inspectors' Report extract) — Durham Mining Museum
- (secondary) Ripley Colliery — Durham Mining Museum — Durham Mining Museum
- (primary) Ripley Colliery explosion, 5 October 1857 — Durham Mining Museum — Durham Mining Museum
Record created: 12 September 2026 · Last researched: 12 September 2026