Brattice

A partition, built or hung inside a mine shaft or roadway, used to separate and direct the flow of ventilating air.

Historical usage

Brattices are a longstanding feature of British mine ventilation, going back to the earliest collieries that relied on a single shaft divided in two, with a furnace kept burning on one side to draw air down the other and up past the fire — the brattice being what physically kept the two air currents apart. Cloth brattice, waxed or tarred jute sacking, came into wide use as a cheaper, movable alternative to permanent timber or masonry partitions.

How it worked

A permanent brattice — built of timber, brick or concrete — divided a shaft or roadway into a downcast side, carrying fresh air down, and an upcast side, carrying stale air and gas back out. Temporary cloth brattice served the same purpose in working areas, hung to direct part of the ventilating current toward or away from a specific working face as needed, and could be repositioned as work advanced.

Why it was used

Brattices let a mine control where its ventilating air actually went, rather than letting it find its own way through the workings — essential for keeping fresh air reaching the working face and clearing gas from it, rather than air simply short-circuiting through the easiest route back to the upcast shaft.

Risks & limitations

A brattice depended entirely on being properly maintained and correctly positioned: a damaged, displaced or badly fitted brattice could let ventilating air bypass the working face altogether, allowing dangerous gas to build up exactly where it was least expected — a failure implicated in more than one British mining disaster.

Disasters associated with this term

Included only where MineArchive's own research gives a reasonable evidential basis, with the nature of the relationship stated — not every disaster where this term might plausibly apply.

• Haig Colliery explosion, 1931 (contributing factor)
  The 1931 inquiry found firedamp had accumulated in Bailey's place because of the derangement of the brattice doors.

Sources

1. (secondary) Brattice — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) RI 2872 The Use of Brattice Cloth in Coal Mines — OneMine

Record created: 22 August 2026 · Last researched: 22 August 2026