Whiston Colliery explosion, 1878

On Sunday 17 February 1878 an explosion at Whiston Colliery, near Prescot, killed seven men who were sealing off a fire caused by spontaneous combustion in the Main Delf. The jury returned accidental death and praised the manager's efforts.

Cause

Gas collecting behind imperfectly sealed stoppings round a spontaneous-combustion fire, made explosive by air leaking in, and fired by the fire.

Contributing factors

A seam long liable to spontaneous combustion, managed by walling off fires.

What happened

The Main Delf at Whiston, owned by the Wigan and Whiston Coal Company, had been liable to fires from spontaneous combustion for years, and the management dealt with them by walling off the affected area with brick stoppings. On the Sunday the fireman Abel Wall reported an explosion in No. 1 Pit. The manager, Mr Makinson, studied the plans with him to decide how to shut off the air, and men went down to build a stopping while sand was brought to them up the jigger brow.

As the first boxes of sand arrived, using full boxes of coal as a counterbalance, gas exploded. One survivor saw the fire of a further explosion coming from the stopping and found himself under fallen timber. Seven died: the fireman Abel Wall and the datallers James Briscoe, Isaac Anders, John Macdonald, James Williams, Henry Heyes and James Mullaney.

Rescue & recovery

The manager and officials worked to put out the fire and bring out the injured and dead.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest at Huyton Quarry the chief fireman, John Howard, attributed it to gas collecting in the stoppings, which imperfect sealing had let air reach.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found the deaths accidental and praised the manager and all at the colliery for their efforts to put out the fire and save lives.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion on 17 February 1878 killed seven, including the fireman Abel Wall. ^1,2
• The men were building stoppings round a fire from spontaneous combustion when gas exploded. ¹
• The jury returned accidental death and praised the manager's efforts. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On Sunday 17 February 1878 an explosion at Whiston Colliery, near Prescot, killed seven men who were sealing off a fire caused…”
• Dataller (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…under fallen timber. Seven died: the fireman Abel Wall and the datallers James Briscoe, Isaac Anders, John Macdonald, James Williams, Henry…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…off the affected area with brick stoppings. On the Sunday the fireman Abel Wall reported an explosion in No. 1 Pit. The manager, Mr…”
• Jigger (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…went down to build a stopping while sand was brought to them up the jigger brow. As the first boxes of sand arrived, using full boxes of coal…”
• Spontaneous Combustion (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…near Prescot, killed seven men who were sealing off a fire caused by spontaneous combustion in the Main Delf. The jury returned accidental death and praised the…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Whiston Colliery Explosion - Whiston - 1878 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Whiston Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 3 October 2026 · Last researched: 3 October 2026