Wishaw Colliery explosion, 1856

An explosion of firedamp at James Anderson and Company's No. 6 Pit at Wishaw on 15 October 1856 killed two boys working as drawers and injured a man and another boy.

Cause

An accumulation of firedamp in the shaft, ignited under the scaffold.

What happened

On Wednesday 15 October 1856 firedamp exploded in No. 6 Pit of Wishaw Colliery, then worked by James Anderson and Company. Two boys, Adam Davidson and William Baillie, both drawers, were killed; others in the pit escaped with little injury. The lower seams had been so charged with gas that the men would not work them that day, but the upper seams were clear and were being worked. According to one report, water drawn down below the lowest workings in the afternoon let air rush in and drive the gas up the shaft, so that the explosion happened in the pit itself rather than in the workings; Winstanley's list records it as an explosion under the scaffold in the pit. The Scotsman reported the accident at the 'No 2, Netherton Pit, near Wishaw', the property of Messrs Anderson and Co., naming the two dead as brothers called Baillie, the chief support of their widowed mother, and adding that a man and another boy were severely injured.

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 explosion was in No. 6 Pit of Wishaw Colliery. (disputed) ²
• The Scotsman placed it in the No. 2 Netherton Pit near Wishaw, owned by Messrs Anderson and Co., and named the dead as two Baillie brothers. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of firedamp at Wishaw on 15 October 1856 killed two boys. ^1,2
• The dead were William Baillie and Adam Davidson, drawers. ^1,3,2
• The explosion was in No. 6 Pit of Wishaw Colliery. (disputed) ²
• The Scotsman placed it in the No. 2 Netherton Pit near Wishaw, owned by Messrs Anderson and Co., and named the dead as two Baillie brothers. (disputed) ²
• Firedamp exploded under the scaffold in the pit. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “On Wednesday 15 October 1856 firedamp exploded in No. 6 Pit of Wishaw Colliery, then worked by James Anderson and Company. Two boys, Adam Davidson…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion of firedamp at James Anderson and Company's No. 6 Pit at Wishaw on 15 October…”
• Putter (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…No. 6 Pit at Wishaw on 15 October 1856 killed two boys working as drawers and injured a man and another boy.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “An accumulation of firedamp in the shaft, ignited under the scaffold.”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1850s B: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Cambusnethan parish accidents — Scottish Mining Website
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1850-1859, surnames D (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026