Darley Main Colliery

Overview

A shallow Barnsley-seam colliery in Worsbrough Dale, at work by 1843, where a fire killed six in 1847 and an explosion seventy-five in January 1849, the worst in Yorkshire since the Oaks. It closed in 1886.

History

Darley Main Colliery lay in Worsbrough Dale, a mile or so south-east of Barnsley and two miles from the Oaks Colliery, in the Barnsley seam, here about eight feet thick and not deep. It was at work by 1843, when a small explosion injured two men, one of whom died, and in 1849 it was Mr G. Jarratt's colliery. Two shafts close together on the south side of the workings, 393 feet deep and nine and a half feet across, served as pumping pit and as winding and downcast pit; a third, 325 feet deep and a little way off, was the upcast, though it was also used for drawing water for half of every day.

The coal was got by the bank work of the district, in faces 25 to 30 yards wide that left many closed goaves to hold firedamp. The ventilation was by a furnace, weakened by the water drawn in the upcast; about 9,000 cubic feet of air a minute was thought to enter the mine, and perhaps as little as 6,000. The colliery had two dozen safety lamps but worked by naked light, a shovel set up as a sign that candles were to be kept low. On 29 January 1847 blasting set the coal on fire 200 yards from the pit bottom and six men died in the smoke; in July 1847 another explosion burnt two men who later died, and the jury put the run of accidents down to bad management.

On 24 January 1849, with 101 men and boys below and about 120 acres worked out, firedamp exploded in the dip banks at 11.20 in the morning. Seventy-five died, the worst loss in Yorkshire since the Oaks two years before, and eight horses. The inquest jury returned accidental death and recommended a better mode of ventilation before the mine was reopened; Mr Tremenheere, the Commissioner, used the occasion to urge a government inquiry into coal mines. A relief fund drew £200 from the colliery company and £25 from Prince Albert.

After Jarratt the owners are recorded as the Darley Main Company in 1854 and the Darley Main Coal Company from 1855, Croft and Co. from 1861 to 1872, and the Darley Main company again from 1873 until the colliery closed. In 1880 the Darley Main Coal Company also held Pindar Oaks at Barnsley. Its men were among those missing from work on the morning of the Thorncliffe riot in January 1870. The colliery closed in 1886.

Geology

Barnsley seam of the South Yorkshire Coal Measures, about eight feet thick here and at shallow depth, worked by bank work that left closed goaves full of firedamp.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Three shafts: a pumping pit and a winding and downcast pit close together on the south side, 393 feet deep and nine and a half feet across, and an upcast 325 feet deep a little way off, also used to draw water. Bank work in faces 25 to 30 yards wide, with about 120 acres worked out by 1849; an underground engine house 260 yards inbye; furnace ventilation.

Closure

Closed in 1886.

What remains

Unknown.

Disasters & major incidents

• Darley Main Colliery fire, 1847
  29 January 1847 · Fire · 6 fatalities
  On 29 January 1847 blasting with gunpowder set the coal on fire about 200 yards from the pit bottom at Darley Main Colliery, near Barnsley. After more than two hours trying to put it out the men retreated through the smoke, and six of them died, among them the underground steward.
• Darley Main Colliery explosion, 1849
  24 January 1849 · Explosion · 75 fatalities
  At about 11.20 a.m. on 24 January 1849 firedamp exploded in the Barnsley seam at G. Jarratt's Darley Main Colliery in Worsbrough Dale, near Barnsley, killing 75 of the 101 men and boys underground. It was the worst Yorkshire disaster since the Oaks explosion two years before.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Opened in 1849. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery was at work by April 1843, when a small explosion injured two men, one of whom died. ¹
• Opened in 1849. (disputed) ^2,3
• The pumping and winding shafts were 393 feet deep and the upcast 325 feet; the downcast and upcast were nine and a half feet in diameter. ¹
• On 29 January 1847 blasting set the coal on fire 200 yards from the pit bottom and six men died. ^2,4
• On 24 January 1849 an explosion of firedamp killed 75 of the 101 men and boys underground at Mr G. Jarratt's Darley Main Colliery. ^1,2
• In 1880 the colliery belonged to the Darley Main Coal Co., which also held Pindar Oaks. ⁵
• Darley Main's men were noted as absent from work on the morning of the Thorncliffe Colliery riot, 21 January 1870. ⁶
• The colliery closed in 1886. ²
• Plans of the Barnsley seam at Darley Main and Agnes are held in the mine plans catalogue. ⁷
• The owners are recorded as the Darley Main Co. in 1854, the Darley Main Coal Co. in 1855-61, Croft and Co. in 1861-72 and Darley Main from 1873 to 1886. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Darley Main Colliery Explosion - Barnsley - 1849 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) Darley Main Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Darley Main Colliery, Barnsley, South Yorkshire — Mindat
4. (secondary) Darley Main Colliery Fire - Barnsley - 1847 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (secondary) List of coal mines UK 1880 — Coalmining History Resource Centre
6. (secondary) Jarratts Buildings - The Community, 1861-1880 (Denise Bates) — Denise Bates
7. (primary) Mine plan: DARLEY MAIN AND AGNES, Barnsley seam (feature 21838518) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue

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