Walker Colliery explosion, 1766

Ten people were killed at Walker Colliery on the Tyne on 18 March 1766, eleven months after an explosion at the same pit had killed eight. The Durham Mining Museum records both among the colliery's disasters and names the dead; neither entry gives a cause for the 1766 accident.

Cause

Unknown. The Durham Mining Museum's entry for 18 March 1766 gives the toll without a cause, unlike its entry for the explosion of 2 April 1765 at the same colliery.

What happened

Walker Colliery, sunk on the north bank of the Tyne below Newcastle in the 1750s, was one of the deepest pits of its day. On 2 April 1765 an explosion there killed eight people. Less than a year later, on 18 March 1766, ten more were killed. The colliery went on to lose six men to a fall of stones in 1823 and sixteen to a firedamp explosion in 1862.

Rescue & recovery

Unknown.

Investigation & inquiry

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Ten lives were lost at Walker Colliery on 18 March 1766; the Durham Mining Museum records the toll without a cause. ¹
• An explosion at the same colliery on 2 April 1765 had killed eight people. ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) Walker Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Walker Colliery (Grace's Guide) — Grace's Guide

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026