Tinsley Park Colliery fire, 1869

Three men were suffocated at Tinsley Park Colliery, east of Sheffield, on 15 September 1869 when the coal caught fire, and the shafts had to be sealed.

Cause

An underground fire in the coal, of unknown cause.

What happened

On 15 September 1869 the coal took fire in Tinsley Park Colliery, east of Sheffield, from a cause never found. The colliers George Allen and George Morton and the labourer S. Hollingsworth were suffocated, and the shafts had to be sealed to put the fire out.

Rescue & recovery

The shafts were sealed.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The owner is given as B. Huntsman. (uncertain) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• On 15 September 1869 three men were suffocated at Tinsley Park Colliery when the coal took fire from an unknown cause. ^1,2,3
• The dead were the colliers George Allen, 28, and George Morton, 59, and the labourer S. Hollingsworth, 36. ^1,2,3
• The shafts had to be sealed. ^1,2,3
• The owner is given as B. Huntsman. (uncertain) ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Park Colliery, east of Sheffield, on 15 September 1869 when the coal caught fire, and the shafts had to be sealed.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Three men were suffocated at Tinsley Park Colliery, east of Sheffield, on 15 September 1869 when the coal caught fire,…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Sheffield, on 15 September 1869 when the coal caught fire, and the shafts had to be sealed.”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1860s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1860-1869, surnames H, part 4 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (primary) Tinsley Park Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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