Vauxhall Colliery explosion, 1873

On the morning of Monday 23 June 1873, while the Vauxhall (late Kenyon) Colliery near Ruabon was being sunk, two firemen sent to clear gas from the Upper Yard workings forced it into the upcast shaft, where the ventilating furnace fired it. Phillip Phillips and Edward Rogers died in the afterdamp; their bodies were not reached for three days.

Cause

The firemen forced a larger volume of air into the Upper Yard seam workings to clear an accumulation of gas. The gas was driven out by the return drift into the upcast shaft and ignited at the ventilating furnace, and the blast came back down the pit and blew out the brattice.

Contributing factors

The shaft was divided by a wooden brattice and ventilated by a temporary furnace in a cupola at the surface. The underlooker had found gas that morning and sent the colliers back, leaving only the two firemen with locked lamps to watch and clear it; he had not been down on the Saturday, though it was his duty, and the barometer was falling on the Monday.

What happened

The pit was about 510 yards deep and still being sunk; two or three colliers worked each shift getting coal from an upper seam at 393 yards for the engines. On the morning of the accident the foreman found gas in the Upper Yard workings and told the two men, acting as firemen, to put down a scaffold and force more air in during the breakfast hour. Two other men in the shaft escaped, one slightly hurt. Crowds waited at the pit bank from the Monday until the bodies were found on the Thursday.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest opened at the Moreton Inn before the coroner, Mr Thelwall, on the Thursday and was adjourned for the assistant inspector, Mr Bell, who was engaged at Wigan. At the resumed hearing Bell said he thought the men had been in too great a hurry to get the gas out instead of letting it escape gradually, and that the underlooker ought to have gone down himself to see it properly cleared. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Recorded claims

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

• On Monday 23 June 1873 an explosion of firedamp at the Vauxhall Colliery, Ruabon, then being sunk, killed two firemen, Phillip Phillips and Edward Rogers of Rhos. ^1,2,3
• Forcing more air into the Upper Yard workings to clear gas drove it into the upcast shaft, where the ventilating furnace fired it. ¹
• The two men were not burnt but appeared to have died from the afterdamp; their bodies were not found until the Thursday. ^1,2
• The adjourned inquest returned a verdict of accidental death; the inspector thought the men had hurried to clear the gas, and that the underlooker should have gone down himself. ³

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…furnace fired it. Phillip Phillips and Edward Rogers died in the afterdamp; their bodies were not reached for three days.”
• Brattice (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…furnace, and the blast came back down the pit and blew out the brattice.”
• Heapstead (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…men in the shaft escaped, one slightly hurt. Crowds waited at the pit bank from the Monday until the bodies were found on the Thursday.”
• Locked Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…and sent the colliers back, leaving only the two firemen with locked lamps to watch and clear it; he had not been down on the Saturday, though…”
• Reverberatory Furnace (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…by a wooden brattice and ventilated by a temporary furnace in a cupola at the surface. The underlooker had found gas that morning and sent…”

Sources

1. (primary) Disasters - Names: Vauxhall, 23 June 1873 (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (primary) Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser, 28 June 1873: Explosion at the Vauxhall Colliery: two men killed — Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) The Cambrian News, 11 July 1873: The explosion at Vauxhall Colliery (adjourned inquest) — The Cambrian News (Welsh Newspapers Online, National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Vauxhall Colliery — Durham Mining Museum, from the Lists of Mines

Record created: 25 October 2026 · Last researched: 25 October 2026