Bogles Hole Pit

Overview

A Clyde Iron Works pit of the Dunlops at Tollcross, between the ironworks and the north bank of the Clyde about three miles from Glasgow, with a shaft of 55 fathoms and twelve to fourteen men. On 28 September 1846 firedamp that had gathered over the weekend exploded and killed five men and a boy.

History

Bogles Hole Pit belonged to the Dunlops' Clyde Iron Works at Tollcross and stood between the ironworks and the north bank of the Clyde, about three miles from Glasgow and a stone's throw from the river. It had a vertical shaft of 55 fathoms, from which a main working ran 263 fathoms; off it a 59-fathom working led to a back mine driven from the main coal to another seam. That passage was split down the middle by a brick partition, so that when a door across the main road was shut the air was turned through the back mine and out again. Twelve or fourteen men were employed.

Over the weekend before 28 September 1846 the door was left open, the air short-circuited along the main road, and firedamp gathered in the back mine. At four on the Monday morning the oversman David Jamieson took the shift down with a naked light instead of first examining with his Davy lamp, and the gas exploded, killing all six (see Disasters, below).

Geology

Unknown.

Workings

A vertical shaft of 55 fathoms; a main working of 263 fathoms with a 59-fathom branch to a back mine, ventilated by a brick partition and a door.

Closure

Unknown.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Bogles Hole Pit explosion, 1846
  28 September 1846 · Explosion · 6 fatalities
  At about four on the morning of Monday 28 September 1846 a shift of five men and a boy went down Bogles Hole Pit at the Clyde Iron Works, Tollcross. A ventilation door had been left open since Saturday and firedamp had filled the back mine; the oversman led them in with a naked light and the gas exploded, killing all six.

Recorded claims

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

• The pit belonged to the Clyde Iron Works of Messrs Dunlop at Tollcross. ^1,2
• Its vertical shaft was 55 fathoms deep, with a main working of 263 fathoms. ¹
• Twelve or fourteen men were employed in the pit. ¹
• An explosion on 28 September 1846 killed five men and a boy. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Scottish Mining Website: Tollcross 1846 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) NMRS: Bogle Hole Pit Explosion, Glasgow, 1846 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026