Rawmarsh Colliery explosion, 1874

At about ten to eight on the morning of 20 November 1874, gas exploded in the No. 7 dip south levels of the Barnsley seam at J. and J. Charlesworth's Rawmarsh Colliery near Rotherham — about 1,400 yards from the shaft, in a pit worked alongside their Warren Vale colliery. Twenty-three men died. The engineers disagreed at the inquest about whether an outburst or a roof fall had driven the gas out, but not about what lit it: the men were working with naked candles.

Cause

An outburst of gas in the No. 1 bank of the dip south levels, ignited by the naked candles the men were working with. John Fretwell Thompson, a mining engineer from Manvers Main, thought the gas had been driven out by a fall of roof in the goaf rather than released by an outburst.

Contributing factors

An old colliery with very extensive abandoned workings, ventilated by furnaces. Naked candles in use at the face — several colliers told the inquest they would sooner work with candles than with Stephenson lamps. The manager, William Hargreaves, was ill at the time of the explosion and died soon afterwards.

What happened

Rawmarsh had been worked thirty-five years by 1874 and took the Barnsley seam at 127 yards; seven shafts connected with it, four of them downcast including a pumping shaft. Three bords ran north-east from the Old or Rawmarsh pit, parallel and dead straight for almost a mile, each sixty to seventy square feet in section. About 460 men and boys were below that morning between the Warren Vale and the Rawmarsh pits. The fire-tryer John Harrison had been in the dips of the No. 7 south level at about a quarter to seven and found it clear of gas; Thomas Roebuck entered the report in the book and went to the north side. He was at the pit bottom when it happened at about ten to eight, felt nothing, and heard someone say, 'Oh dear! Something is up.' John Waddington, the other fire-tryer, had found no gas either. The colliery engineer George Johnson Kell went down at ten past ten, examined the return for gas, satisfied himself there was no fire and ordered the furnace put out. Men were found suffering from the afterdamp. Thompson arrived, asked Hargreaves whether he could help, and took charge of the exploration.

Rescue & recovery

Thompson's own account is the record of the recovery. The first bank's gate ends were full of gas; the furnace was relit; hastily built stoppings had to be repaired. Working up the second gate of the far bank they found one body halfway, then two more. Then word came of a fire in the first gate of the bank, and two bodies with it. All the men left the pit except Ward, Brown, Firth and Lazenby. 'We went to the fire and found it burning just behind the gate. A man's jacket was on fire and a clog. We got it out as best we could with the assistance of a bottle of water.' There was a deal of smoke, and gas five or six feet off. They found a man with a stone on his head which had killed him, crossed the bank face under a heavily weighted roof, found two more men at the far side of the first bank and four near the far gate, brought out what they could, and sent up for fresh men to get the rest of the bodies out.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquiry was conducted by the coroner, Mr D. Whiteman, with Mr Wardell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, assisted by Mr Thomas Evans. Kell thought the explosion was an outburst of gas in the No. 1 bank lit by the naked candles of the men working nearby; Thompson thought a fall of roof in the goaf had driven the gas out. Wardell recommended that the mine be lit by Stephenson's lamps.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found that the deceased were accidentally killed by an explosion of gas at the Rawmarsh Colliery on the 20th, and recommended that Wardell's recommendations be adhered to. Wardell afterwards reported that Stephenson's lamps had been adopted by Messrs Charlesworth, and that William Hargreaves, the manager, who had been ill at the time, had died.

Changes to practice & legislation

The colliery gave up naked candles for Stephenson lamps at the inspector's recommendation and the jury's insistence — the practical outcome of an inquiry in which colliers had said in open court that they preferred the candles.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

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 colliery engineer George Johnson Kell thought the explosion was the result of an outburst of gas in the No. 1 bank, lit by the naked candles of the men working nearby. (disputed) ¹
• The mining engineer John Fretwell Thompson believed the cause was a fall of roof in the goaf which drove out the gas. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery engineer George Johnson Kell thought the explosion was the result of an outburst of gas in the No. 1 bank, lit by the naked candles of the men working nearby. (disputed) ¹
• The mining engineer John Fretwell Thompson believed the cause was a fall of roof in the goaf which drove out the gas. (disputed) ¹
• Twenty-three men died; both NMRS and the Durham Mining Museum name all twenty-three. ^1,2
• The explosion was in the dip south levels of the Rawmarsh pit, but the colliery was worked together with Charlesworth's Warren Vale pit - NMRS records about 460 men and boys below in the two that morning. Warren Vale, also known as Piccadilly Colliery, was sunk in the late 1840s and worked by J. and J. Charlesworth for Earl Fitzwilliam, taking the same nine-foot seam at 127 yards. ^3,1

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…and ordered the furnace put out. Men were found suffering from the afterdamp. Thompson arrived, asked Hargreaves whether he could help, and took…”
• Goaf (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…Main, thought the gas had been driven out by a fall of roof in the goaf rather than released by an outburst.”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the morning of 20 November 1874, gas exploded in the No. 7 dip south levels of the Barnsley seam at J. and J. Charlesworth's Rawmarsh Colliery…”
• Outburst (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…men died. The engineers disagreed at the inquest about whether an outburst or a roof fall had driven the gas out, but not about what lit it:…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…engineers disagreed at the inquest about whether an outburst or a roof fall had driven the gas out, but not about what lit it: the men were…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Rawmarsh Colliery Explosion – Rotherham – 1874 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Colliery Disaster: Rawmarsh, 20th November 1874 (J. and J. Charlesworth) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Warren Vale Colliery — Wikipedia

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