St Hilda’s Colliery Explosion

On the morning of 28 June 1839 an explosion tore through the western workings of St Hilda’s pit in the middle of South Shields, killing 51 men and boys. Most died not in the blast but of afterdamp. The inquest returned accidental death with a recommendation that working coal mines by candlelight be abandoned in favour of lamps, and a Committee for the Investigation of Accidents in Mines was formed in the town shortly afterwards — its report weighed the merits of the various safety lamps and did much to improve mine safety nationally.

Cause

An explosion of gas in the western workings, attributed at the inquest to a lighted candle carried into a disused part of the mine that had become foul.

Contributing factors

The coal needed blasting with gunpowder, so candles were used through much of the pit and the Davy lamp only where the coal was softer. The colliery had worked fifteen or sixteen years without a serious explosion and was considered peculiarly safe, which is part of why the practice went unquestioned. The seat of the explosion was nearly two miles from the shaft, so afterdamp had spread far before anyone could reach the men.

What happened

The first sign was between eight and nine in the morning, when the banksmen saw smoke from the furnace mixed with small coals rushing up the downcast shaft. A hundred men and boys were brought to the surface, able to say only that there had been an explosion in the west workings; several were nearly exhausted by choke damp, and many of them, once they had rallied, went straight back down to look for the others. Not one person was found alive. Because the pit stood inside a populous town the news spread within minutes and a crowd gathered at the shaft. From about eleven o’clock the bodies began to come up. The seat of the explosion was nearly two miles from the shaft; a contemporary eye-witness described the rescuers moving like spectres in the dark, the smell of the gas strengthening as they went in, bodies found in groups — some without a muscle of the face disturbed, others with clothes burnt and torn — and, at a fall of roof, men who had lain down and died when the way out was blocked.

Rescue & recovery

William Anderson, the viewer, went down soon after the explosion and stayed until the early afternoon, when he was brought up exhausted, and then went back. The viewers of Jarrow and Heworth collieries came to help, and Mr Mather, a South Shields wine merchant, went down early and worked at reviving those brought out. The town’s medical men attended throughout, though inflation of the lungs succeeded in not a single case. All 51 bodies were recovered the same day. The funerals were held that afternoon before thousands of spectators; where a family had lost more than one, two, three or four coffins went in a single cart. Twenty-five were buried at St Hilda’s, fifteen at Trinity church, five at Jarrow and five at North Shields, as many as nine or ten to a grave.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest opened on the Saturday and was adjourned to the Monday. It established that by far the greater number had died of afterdamp rather than in the explosion itself, and attributed the ignition to a current of gas from the wastes meeting a lighted candle carried into the tenth board of the mine, which had become foul. The verdict was accidental death, with a special recommendation from the jury that the practice of working coal mines with candles be abandoned and lamps adopted instead. The account is careful to add that blame was hard to fix on the lighting system, since the use of candles was general and the mine had been considered unusually safe.

Changes to practice & legislation

The disaster’s importance is what came after it. A Committee for the Investigation of Accidents in Mines was formed in South Shields shortly afterwards; its report examined the relative merits of the various safety lamps, along with ventilation and scientific instruments, and went a considerable way towards improving safety in mines generally. The Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record places the colliery, on this account, in a significant position in the development of ventilation, lighting and safety underground.

Memorials & commemoration

The colliery’s pumping engine house was partially renovated in 1989 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the disaster, and it and the remaining head stocks were listed Grade II in 1990. A blue plaque marks the site.

Recorded claims

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

• Fifty-one men and boys were killed. Nineteen widows and 44 orphaned children were left, and a subscription raised for them exceeded £400 within a few days. ^1,2
• The inquest ascertained that by far the greatest number of those in the mine had perished by after-damp, only a small proportion having been killed by the explosion itself. ¹
• The jury returned accidental death "with a special recommendation from the jury that the practice of working coal-mines with candles be abandoned, and lamps be adopted in their stead", finding the explosion caused by a workman going with a lighted candle into the tenth board of the mine, which had become foul. ¹
• From the nature of the coal, which required blasting with gunpowder, it had been found necessary to use candles in many parts of the pit, the Davy lamp being used only where the coal was softer than usual. ¹
• A Committee for the Investigation of Accidents in Mines was formed in South Shields shortly afterwards. Its report considered the relative merits of the various safety lamps and went some way towards improving the safety of mines. ³
• The St Hilda pit had been worked about fifteen or sixteen years, during the whole of which time there had been no explosions of any serious consequence. ²
• Among the dead was Joseph Argyle, aged 45, a deputy overman, who descended to look for his son and was brought up a corpse, leaving a wife and eight children. His brother had urged him to retire when they were overtaken by the choke-damp. ²

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Shields, killing 51 men and boys. Most died not in the blast but of afterdamp. The inquest returned accidental death with a recommendation that…”
• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…an explosion in the west workings; several were nearly exhausted by choke damp, and many of them, once they had rallied, went straight back down to…”
• Pumping Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s memorials: “The colliery’s pumping engine house was partially renovated in 1989 to commemorate the 150th anniversary…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…shortly afterwards — its report weighed the merits of the various safety lamps and did much to improve mine safety nationally.”
• Viewer (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the rescue and recovery: “William Anderson, the viewer, went down soon after the explosion and stayed until the early…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (primary) The St. Hilda Colliery, South Shields — View of the Collieries — Durham Mining Museum, reproducing the contemporary account
2. (primary) Colliery Disaster 1839 — St. Hilda — Durham Mining Museum, reproducing M. A. Richardson’s Local Historian’s Table Book (1844)
3. (primary) St. Hilda's Colliery (Tyne and Wear HER 2355) — Tyne and Wear Historic Environment Record
4. (primary) St. Hilda's Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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