Wylam Colliery Boiler Explosion, 1865

Date	27 October 1865
Mine	Wylam Colliery
Region	Northumberland
Type	Machinery
Fatalities	3 (Three men died within hours of the explosion: Edward Best (13, Tub Rope Boy), W. Blackburn (17, Fireman) and Anthony Curley (21, Brakesman), all buried at Ovingham Churchyard. Blackburn was reported as the sole support of his parents; Curley had worked at the colliery since boyhood and was well respected; Best's life was insured and he was a member of the Permanent Relief Fund.)
Context	During active mining
Status	Researched

A boiler explosion at Wylam Colliery killed three workers, including a 13-year-old boy, and was reported at the time in the local press.

Cause

A boiler at the colliery exploded on 27 October 1865; no further technical detail on the cause has been located in the sources checked.

What happened

On the afternoon of 27 October 1865, at around five o'clock, three men were at work together down Wylam Colliery's pit in the Horsley Wood seam: Anthony Curley, a 21-year-old brakesman; W. Blackburn, the 17-year-old fireman; and Edward Best, a 13-year-old tub rope boy who also braked the drum. A hewer, J. Thew, and a boy making their way to the engine were suddenly knocked to the ground and their lights extinguished; making their way to the boiler with difficulty, they found Curley, Best and Blackburn lying at three different points along the seam -- Blackburn about 25 yards from the engine and frightfully burnt, Curley sitting some 75 yards off, and Best about 85 yards away, also severely scalded. Potts, the back overman working the same seam, raised the alarm and had the three men brought to bank, where Dr Atkinson attended them, but their scalds were so severe that all three died by twelve o'clock the same night.

Rescue & recovery

The back overman, Potts, raised the alarm on discovering the three injured men and had them brought to the surface, where Dr Atkinson attended them; their injuries proved fatal within hours.

Investigation & inquiry

No detail on a formal inquiry or inquest into this incident has yet been located in the sources checked.

Recorded claims

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

The three men killed were Edward Best (13, Tub Rope Boy), W. Blackburn (17, Fireman) and Anthony Curley (21, Brakesman), all buried at Ovingham Churchyard; the event was reported in the Newcastle Courant (3 Nov 1865) and the Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury (4 Nov 1865). ¹
The original newspaper report states the explosion happened underground in the Horsley Wood seam boiler at around five o'clock in the afternoon; the three victims were found at distances of 25, 75 and 85 yards from the engine and died of their scalds by midnight the same day. ²

Sources

(primary) Wylam Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
(primary) Explosion At Wylam Colliery (Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury, 4 Nov 1865) — Durham Mining Museum (reproducing the original newspaper report)

Record created: 2 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 September 2026