Shevington Colliery explosion, 1857

Two drawers at Shevington Colliery, near Wigan, walked past the danger signal into a disused part of the Arley Mine on 17 November 1857 and fired the gas that had gathered there.

Cause

Naked lights carried past a danger signal into a disused working full of firedamp.

What happened

On 17 November 1857 two drawers in the Arley Mine at John Tayleur's Shevington Colliery, John and Thomas Breakwell, went past the signal marking danger into a suspended working where gas had accumulated. Their lights fired it, and both were killed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 17 November 1857 two drawers, John and Thomas Breakwell, were killed by an explosion of firedamp at Shevington Colliery, near Wigan. ^1,2,3
• They went into a disused place in the Arley Mine beyond the danger signal and fired an accumulation of gas. ³
• The colliery belonged to John Tayleur. ^2,3

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: “Two drawers at Shevington Colliery, near Wigan, walked past the danger signal into a disused part of…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…lights carried past a danger signal into a disused working full of firedamp.”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “Naked lights carried past a danger signal into a disused working full of firedamp.”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two drawers at Shevington Colliery, near Wigan, walked past the danger signal…”

Sources

1. (primary) Shevington Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) 1850s B: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
3. (primary) Colliery accident, Shevington, 17 November 1857 — Durham Mining Museum

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