Springwell Colliery Explosion, 1837

Four years after an explosion killed forty-seven at Springwell, the ventilation had been rebuilt and the pitmen no longer thought the mine fiery. On 6 December 1837 a second explosion in the Hutton seam killed twenty-seven of the twenty-nine men and boys at work in that district. The likeliest cause was a safety lamp dropped across the rolley way and run over.

Cause

Firedamp ignited in the broken workings, most probably by a safety lamp that had been dropped across the rolley way and run over, breaking its gauze and glass.

Contributing factors

The explosion happened in the broken workings, where the pillars were being removed — always reckoned the most dangerous part of a mine for the generation of foul air, and the reason safety lamps were used there exclusively.

What happened

It happened between nine and ten on the Wednesday morning. Of the twenty-nine men and boys at work in that part of the Hutton seam, twenty-seven were killed — fifteen men and twelve boys — and three horses with them. Many of the men left wives and large families, who were thus deprived of their chief support. A second district, a mile from the shaft, where sixty-one men and boys were working, was not touched by the blast. The resident viewer and the overman had just left the place where the explosion occurred and were blown down by the after-current; their attention to duty had very nearly killed them. Usually in such cases the immediate cause stays a mystery, but here a discovery was made. In the broken workings there were traces of fire, particularly the scorching of the pit props, and near them lay the safety lamp of Edward Price — positioned as though it had fallen across the rolley way and been accidentally run over. Its gauze wire and glass were broken and much bulged in. Price's body was found not far from it, and the lamp was identified by its number as the one he had been issued. Three witnesses traced the explosion from the northern extremity where the lamp lay to the south end and thence westward to the whole-coal workings and north to the shaft.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest was held the next day before Michael Hall, coroner for Chester ward, and a jury, at Thomas Maughan's Springwell Inn, on the bodies of James Henderson and Thomas Mason. The witnesses were Nicholas Wood, colliery viewer and general manager to Lord Ravensworth and partners; George Southern, resident viewer at Springwell; C. Steel, the overman; and several pitmen who had worked in the mine. The evidence of the broken lamp led to the strongest inference that the accident was so purely accidental it could not have been prevented by any foresight or prudence, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death after a few minutes' consultation.

Recorded claims

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

• Of twenty-nine men and boys at work in that part of the Hutton seam, twenty-seven perished — fifteen men and twelve boys. Three horses were also killed. (medium) ¹
• The depth of the pit to the Hutton seam was 128 fathoms, the seam dipping east at a decline of one foot in sixteen. (medium) ¹
• Every available means had been adopted to improve the ventilation after the earlier accident, the most expensive being a communication driven from the Springwell pit to another shaft on the Black Fell, the former the downcast and the latter the upcast. The pitmen did not consider the pit at all fiery. (medium) ¹
• The workings ran both the whole coal and the broken. The broken — where the supporting pillars are removed and the roof held temporarily on props — was always reckoned the most dangerous, and safety lamps were used exclusively there, the men being supplied with locked lamps as they went down. When working the unbroken seam the custom was to blast it with gunpowder, and for that the men used candles. (medium) ¹
• The safety lamp of Edward Price was found near traces of fire in the broken workings, positioned as though it had fallen across the rolley way and been accidentally run over. Its gauze and glass were broken and much bulged in, and Price's body lay not far off. The lamp was identified by its number, and the witnesses' opinion was that its breaking caused the fire. (medium) ¹
• The jury, after a few minutes' consultation, returned a verdict of accidental death. (medium) ¹

Related terminology

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

• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…reckoned the most dangerous part of a mine for the generation of foul air, and the reason safety lamps were used there exclusively.”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “Firedamp ignited in the broken workings, most probably by a safety lamp that…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…working, was not touched by the blast. The resident viewer and the overman had just left the place where the explosion occurred and were blown…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…men and boys at work in that district. The likeliest cause was a safety lamp dropped across the rolley way and run over.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…deprived of their chief support. A second district, a mile from the shaft, where sixty-one men and boys were working, was not touched by the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) M. A. Richardson, Local Historian's Table Book (1844), on the Springwell explosion of 1837 — Durham Mining Museum, quoting Richardson
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Springwell Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026