Walker Colliery explosion, 1766

Cause

An explosion.

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.

The workings were then about a hundred fathoms down. On 1 April 1765 the foul air fired with a report as loud as thunder, scorching and burning the men, who were sent to the Infirmary, though none died; when overmen and others went down the next day to examine the mine it fired a second time and killed eight men and seventeen horses. Of 1766 nothing more is recorded than the explosion and the ten lives.

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 in an explosion at Walker Colliery on 18 March 1766. ^1,2,3
• An explosion at the same colliery on 2 April 1765 had killed eight people. ¹
• On 1 April 1765 an explosion at Walker burned the workmen without killing any; the next day it fired again and killed eight men and seventeen horses. ²

Related terminology

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

• Bad Air (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…workings were then about a hundred fathoms down. On 1 April 1765 the foul air fired with a report as loud as thunder, scorching and burning the…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “Ten people were killed at Walker Colliery on the Tyne on 18 March 1766, eleven months after an explosion at…”
• Fathom (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…firedamp explosion in 1862. The workings were then about a hundred fathoms down. On 1 April 1765 the foul air fired with a report as loud as…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…went on to lose six men to a fall of stones in 1823 and sixteen to a firedamp explosion in 1862.”

Sources

1. (primary) Walker Colliery (Durham Mining Museum) — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Local Records, or Historical Register of Remarkable Events, vol. 1 (Sykes) — Internet Archive
3. (primary) Walker, 18 March 1766 (disaster names page; Sykes) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (secondary) Walker Colliery (Grace's Guide) — Grace's Guide

Record created: 17 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 November 2026