St Helen's Colliery explosion, 1888

An explosion at No. 3 Pit, St Helen's Colliery, a mile north of Workington, on the evening of 19 April 1888 killed 30 men. It followed a fire that began in the morning when a shot at the face of Hogg's brow ignited firedamp, and the Inspector concluded that coal dust carried the blast down the engine dip to the downcast shaft.

Date	19 April 1888
Mine	St Helen's Colliery, Siddick
Region	Cumbria
Type	Explosion
Fatalities	30 (The Durham Mining Museum and Grace's Guide give 30 killed. The list of names transcribed from the Inspector's report holds 29, six of whom died in hospital after the explosion; the same account puts 35 men underground on the level of the explosion with five survivors.)
Injuries	Five of the 35 men on the level of the explosion survived, among them John William Beaty, the deputy who fired the shot, who was injured and was said to have lost his reason.
Context	During active mining

Cause

A shot fired at about 9 a.m. at the face of Hogg's brow did not do its work, and firedamp coming from the face ignited and set fire to the coal and the canvas brattice. The Inspector concluded that the flame was that of the fire in Hogg's brow, that the primary explosion was firedamp and gases from the fire mixed with air in the unventilated parts of Hogg's and Gilmour's brows, and that the explosion ran down the engine dip and on to the downcast shaft by coal dust alone.

Contributing factors

Efforts to seal the fire went on through the day while slight explosions were heard that the manager took for falls of roof; the Inspector thought they were explosions. The last stoppings were being built after the direction of the air had been reversed to clear smoke, and 35 men were still underground on the level.

What happened

St Helen's Colliery stood about a mile north of Workington, close to the seashore. It was owned by the St. Helens Colliery and Brick Company, Limited, whose directors had no technical knowledge of mining; the certified manager was Mr J. H. Johnson. Two shafts 28½ feet apart, both 119 fathoms deep where they cut the Main seam, served the Main seam and the Ten Quarters seam 34 fathoms above it. A Guibal fan at the upcast exhausted the air, about 37,170 cubic feet a minute passing through the Main seam, and some 200 tons a day were raised.

Work began as usual at 6 a.m. on 19 April and the deputies reported the workings safe. About 9 a.m. a shot was fired in the coal at the face of Hogg's brow by the deputy John William Beaty for the hewer James Hogg. It failed, firedamp ignited, and the fire took hold of the coal and brattice and drove men from their places. The manager, Mr Johnson, the undermanager, Mr Davison, and the overman Joseph Morrison decided to cut off the air with a 14-inch brick stopping in Gilmour's brow, finished about 2 p.m., and sent out most of the men. At about 3 p.m. a meeting at the surface, attended by the chairman of the directors, decided to isolate the fire by flooding part of the workings and to build a further stopping in the return airway.

The air was turned round to clear smoke, and at about 7.30 p.m., as the regulators were being reopened, the explosion took place. The undermanager, John Davison, was among the dead, as were shiftmen, joiners, deputies and hewers, and the onsetter, engineman, whippers-in and lampman who died in hospital. Twelve of the nineteen horses in the stables were killed.

Rescue & recovery

Within minutes the cages were run down the downcast shaft; the first to surface carried the onsetter Joseph Robinson, alive but injured. A descent within half an hour found four men near the shaft, and most of those down the dip were brought out during the night, some alive. Meeting afterdamp, the explorers feared a second explosion and the mine was flooded, eight or nine million gallons being poured in over ten days. A second descent on 30 April sent up two bodies, and on 15 May a diver, Mr A. Lambert, recovered two more. Pumping began on 4 July and was completed on 21 September 1888, and the remaining bodies were recovered. Seven horses survived, unfed between 19 and 30 April.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest was held by Mr W. W. Lamb, Coroner for West Cumberland, opening on 20 April and continuing on 1, 17, 18, 24, 25 and 26 May, with a separate inquest by the Coroner for the Lordship of Egremont on two who died in Workington Infirmary. The jury found that the deaths were caused by the explosion in Hogg's brow, that it was an explosion of firedamp, that suitable means were adopted for dealing with the fire, that it was accidental, that standing gas or excess coal dust was not known to any of the managers, and that no blame attached to the management.

Recorded claims

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

An explosion at No. 3 Pit of St Helen's Colliery near Workington on 19 April 1888 killed 30 men. ^1,2
A shot at the face of Hogg's brow ignited firedamp and started a fire; the explosion that followed that evening was of firedamp and gases from the fire, carried down the engine dip and to the downcast shaft by coal dust. ²
After the fire began at about 9 a.m., brick and canvas stoppings were built through the day, and at about 3 p.m. it was decided to flood part of the workings; the explosion came at about 7.30 p.m. ²
The coroner's jury found the explosion accidental and attributed no blame to the management. ^1,2
The mine was flooded with eight or nine million gallons of water over ten days, and pumping to recover the last bodies was completed on 21 September 1888. ²

Related terminology

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

Brattice (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…coming from the face ignited and set fire to the coal and the canvas brattice. The Inspector concluded that the flame was that of the fire in…”
Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…that coal dust carried the blast down the engine dip to the downcast shaft.”
Guibal Fan (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…the Main seam and the Ten Quarters seam 34 fathoms above it. A Guibal fan at the upcast exhausted the air, about 37,170 cubic feet a minute…”
Hewer (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…at the face of Hogg's brow by the deputy John William Beaty for the hewer James Hogg. It failed, firedamp ignited, and the fire took hold of…”
Onsetter (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…the dead, as were shiftmen, joiners, deputies and hewers, and the onsetter, engineman, whippers-in and lampman who died in hospital. Twelve of…”

Photographs & further reading

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

NMRS: St Helens Colliery, Workington, 1888 (reference)

The Inspector's report on the pit, the fire and the explosion, the rescue and recovery, the list of the dead and the inquest findings.

View source

Grace's Guide: St Helen's Colliery, Cumberland (reference)

A dated chronology of the colliery, including the 1888 explosion, its directors and the inquest date.

View source

Sources

(secondary) St Helen's Colliery, Cumberland (Grace's Guide) — Grace's Guide
(secondary) St Helens Colliery - Workington - 1888 (NMRS) — Northern Mine Research Society
(primary) Durham Mining Museum - Fatal Accidents at St. Helen's Colliery (CUL) — Durham Mining Museum

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