Tyne Main Colliery suffocation, 1865

Two men who went down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft at Tyne Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were suffocated by foul air.

Cause

Foul air in the drift below the pumping shaft.

What happened

In January 1865 Thomas Heslop and Joseph Charlton went down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft of Tyne Main Colliery to examine a drift and were overcome by foul air; both died. The Durham Mining Museum dates the deaths to 17 January; the newspaper report places them on the Monday, the 16th.

Recorded claims

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

• Thomas Heslop and Joseph Charlton were suffocated at Tyne Main Colliery on 17 January 1865. ^1,2
• They had gone down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft to examine a drift. ²
• They were overcome by foul air. ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were suffocated by foul air.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two men who went down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft at Tyne Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were suffocated by foul air.”
• Drift (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…engine shaft at Tyne Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were suffocated by foul air.”
• Pumping Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Two men who went down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft at Tyne Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two men who went down the Old Goose pumping engine shaft at Tyne Main Colliery in January 1865 to examine a drift were…”

Sources

1. (primary) Tyne Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) News in brief: men suffocated at Tyne Main Colliery (The North Wales Chronicle, 21 January 1865) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026