West Stanley Colliery explosion, 1882

At about 1 a.m. on 19 April 1882 an explosion in the Busty seam of John Henry Burn's West Stanley Colliery killed thirteen of the eighteen men underground. A large stone had fallen from the roof of a bord and released a pocket of firedamp, which fired at the men's Clanny lamps.

Cause

A roof fall in the North Cross-cut district released firedamp held under pressure in a cavity above; it was fired at a safety lamp, the flame passing the gauze either in the rush of gas or as the men snatched up their lamps.

Contributing factors

Clanny lamps, known to pass flame in a moderate current, were in use because the men had refused the safer but dimmer Mueseler; gas and hissing had been noticed in the district; the manager would not treat the mine as fiery, gas was not always entered in the books, and the rules were poorly kept.

What happened

West Stanley worked four seams from four shafts; the Busty, 140 fathoms down, was reached by the Busty and Lamp shafts and ventilated by a Guibal fan. Only eighteen men were underground on the night shift. In the west of the seam, where the floor heaved and a hissing was often heard from fissures in the coal, James McCabe and W. Middlemass were at work, apparently at a food break, when a stone some five yards long fell from the roof of their bord, opening a hole at least 15 feet up into the strata. The gas it released fired. The blast was confined to a small area: five men were found dead at the shaft bottom, where they seemed to have been waiting to ride, and four shifters in the North District were unhurt until they met the afterdamp. The dead included the back overman Thomas J. Coulson and the master shifter Robert Hunter.

Rescue & recovery

Five men were brought out alive.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest before the coroner John Graham sat in April and May 1882. The six lamps found near the seat of the explosion were tested in gas before the inspectors and representatives of the men and owners; all went out safely, though some were damaged and three were unlocked. The men's representative first argued that a shot fired in the South Cross-cut was to blame, then abandoned the theory. The inspector found the management defective: no certified copy of the special rules, an illiterate deputy who did not always record gas, reports kept in the wrong books, no licences for lamp keys or shotfiring, and incomplete barometer and thermometer records, though he accepted these did not cause the explosion.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

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.

• Of 18 men below ground, 13 were killed and 5 brought out alive; all the ponies and horses but one died. ¹
• The 1882 explosion, at 1 a.m. on 19 April in the Busty seam, killed 13 men. ^2,3
• A fallen stone released firedamp from a cavity above; the inspector could not decide whether the gas blew the flame through a lamp gauze or the men's snatching up of their lamps passed it. ^2,1
• The inspector found the management deficient but accepted that this did not contribute to the disaster. ²

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (hazard involved)
  Met by the shifters making for the shaft.
• Deputy (contributing factor)
  An illiterate deputy did not always record gas.
• Guibal Fan (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…down, was reached by the Busty and Lamp shafts and ventilated by a Guibal fan. Only eighteen men were underground on the night shift. In the west…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…were unhurt until they met the afterdamp. The dead included the back overman Thomas J. Coulson and the master shifter Robert Hunter.”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “A roof fall in the North Cross-cut district released firedamp held under…”

Sources

1. (secondary) West Stanley Colliery Explosion - Chester-le-Street - 1882 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) West Stanley Pit disasters — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Coal Mining in Stanley — Stanley Town Council

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026