Silverdale Colliery Sheriff Pit explosion, 1870

On the afternoon of 7 July 1870 firedamp exploded in the Eight Feet workings of the Sheriff Pit at Silverdale, North Staffordshire, killing nineteen men and boys; one man survived from the district.

Cause

Gas, apparently released from two short brows that the butties were preparing to clear and augmented by gas in the potholes of the fiery Eight Feet seam, was fired at a naked light; the inspector could not say exactly where.

What happened

The Sheriff Pit of Stanier and Co.'s Silverdale Colliery, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, had a shaft 300 yards deep and 177 men on its books. On 7 July 1870 about thirty were at work in the Eight Feet workings, some 600 yards from the pit bottom; the butties George Wainwright and Thomas Poole had examined the place that morning and found it safe. About 1.30 p.m. the gas exploded. Men in the Ten Feet and in another seam heard a dull reverberation, and they and the ponies all got out. In the Eight Feet only Eardley, farthest from the blast, survived, saved when a roof beam fell behind him. The roads were blocked by falls, timber and doors were blown away, and nineteen men and boys were killed, the youngest twelve.

Rescue & recovery

Explorers cut a way through the blocked road and found Poole and Wainwright dead and William Madders dying. They worked through the night, overcome at times by afterdamp, and recovered twelve more bodies; the last four, buried under the falls, were found later.

Investigation & inquiry

Thomas Wynne, H.M. Inspector of Mines, gave evidence that he could find nothing wrong with the ventilation but that the distribution of the air was not quite right. The jury found that the men had been killed by an explosion of gas but that there was not sufficient evidence to show how it was caused, and recommended that the return airway, too small for the number of men and the extent of the workings, be enlarged.

Recorded claims

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

• About 1.30 p.m. on 7 July 1870 an explosion of firedamp in the Eight Feet workings of the Sheriff Pit at Stanier and Co.'s Silverdale Colliery killed nineteen men and boys. ^1,2,3
• The shaft was 300 yards deep and 177 men were employed; about thirty were at work in the Eight Feet workings, some 600 yards from the pit bottom. ³
• Of the men in the Eight Feet workings only Eardley, the farthest from the blast, survived, saved when a roof beam fell behind him. ^2,3
• The inspector, Thomas Wynne, believed gas released from two short brows that the butties were preparing to clear had been fired at a naked light, perhaps at a lamp or a pipe, but the exact cause could not be established. ²
• The jury found an explosion of gas, with no evidence of how it was caused, and recommended that the return airway, too small for the extent of the workings, be enlarged. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s rescue and recovery: “…Madders dying. They worked through the night, overcome at times by afterdamp, and recovered twelve more bodies; the last four, buried under the…”
• Buttyman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “Gas, apparently released from two short brows that the butties were preparing to clear and augmented by gas in the potholes of the…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “Thomas Wynne, H.M. Inspector of Mines, gave evidence that he could find nothing wrong with the ventilation…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…by gas in the potholes of the fiery Eight Feet seam, was fired at a naked light; the inspector could not say exactly where.”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…evidence to show how it was caused, and recommended that the return airway, too small for the number of men and the extent of the workings, be…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) Colliery Disaster: Silverdale, Sheriff Pit, 7 July 1870 — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Silverdale Colliery Sheriff Pit Explosion - Newcastle - 1870 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Sheriff Pit Explosion 1870 — Healey Hero

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