Seaton Burn Colliery suffocation, 1877

On 3 September 1877 two men at Seaton Burn Colliery, Northumberland, went down the shaft to repair the damage the cages had done when a winding rope broke. In a side drift close to the shaft they were overcome, it was thought, by fumes from the ventilating furnace, and both died.

Cause

Fumes from the ventilating furnace, it was supposed, in a side drift near the shaft.

What happened

A winding rope had broken, and the cages had damaged the shaft. Charles Gascoigne, the 60-year-old engineman, and William Martin, a 27-year-old changer, went down to repair it.

While they were in a side drift close to the shaft they were suffocated, it was supposed by the fumes of the furnace that ventilated the pit. Gascoigne was buried at St Bartholomew's, Longbenton, three days later.

Recorded claims

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

• On 3 September 1877 Charles Gascoigne and William Martin were suffocated at J. Bowes and Partners' Seaton Burn Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
• They had gone down the shaft to repair damage done by the cages after a winding rope broke, and in a side drift close to the shaft were overcome, it was supposed, by fumes from the ventilating furnace. ^2,3,4
• Gascoigne was buried at St Bartholomew's, Longbenton, on 6 September 1877. ²

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Northumberland, went down the shaft to repair the damage the cages had done when a winding rope broke. In a side drift close to the…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “On 3 September 1877 two men at Seaton Burn Colliery, Northumberland, went down the shaft to repair the damage the cages…”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the damage the cages had done when a winding rope broke. In a side drift close to the shaft they were overcome, it was thought, by fumes from…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “…1877 two men at Seaton Burn Colliery, Northumberland, went down the shaft to repair the damage the cages had done when a winding rope broke.…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Seaton Burn Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Colliery Accident: Seaton Burn, 3 September 1877 — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) 1870s G: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
4. (secondary) 1870s M: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)

Record created: 30 September 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026