Seaton Burn Colliery roof fall, 1882

On 20 February 1882 a fall of stone from the roof at Seaton Burn Colliery, north of Newcastle, killed the deputy Christopher Appleby and the hewer William Spoors, aged 22.

Date	20 February 1882
Mine	Seaton Burn Colliery
Region	Tyne and Wear
Type	Collapse / Roof Fall
Fatalities	2 (Christopher Appleby (45 or 48), deputy, and William Spoors (22), hewer.)
Context	During active mining

Cause

A fall of stone from the roof.

What happened

Seaton Burn Colliery, north of Newcastle upon Tyne, belonged to John Bowes and Partners. On 20 February 1882 a fall of stone from the roof killed two men: Christopher Appleby, a deputy, recorded as 45 by one list and 48 by another, and William Spoors, a hewer aged 22. Appleby was buried in North Gosforth Cemetery.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

Christopher Appleby is recorded as 45 by one list and 48 by another. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

On 20 February 1882 a fall of stone from the roof killed the deputy Christopher Appleby and the hewer William Spoors at Seaton Burn Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
The colliery belonged to John Bowes and Partners. ^2,4
William Spoors was 22. ^3,4
Christopher Appleby is recorded as 45 by one list and 48 by another. (disputed) ^2,3
Christopher Appleby was buried in North Gosforth Cemetery. ³

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: “On 20 February 1882 a fall of stone from the roof at Seaton Burn Colliery, north of Newcastle, killed the deputy Christopher Appleby and the…”
Deputy (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the roof at Seaton Burn Colliery, north of Newcastle, killed the deputy Christopher Appleby and the hewer William Spoors, aged 22.”
Hewer (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…north of Newcastle, killed the deputy Christopher Appleby and the hewer William Spoors, aged 22.”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Seaton Burn, 1882 (Durham Mining Museum) (reference)

The deputy and hewer killed by the fall.

View source

Sources

(primary) Durham Mining Museum - Seaton Burn Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) 1880s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
(primary) Colliery Accident: Seaton Burn, 20 February 1882 — Durham Mining Museum
(secondary) 1880s S (4): Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026