Hetton Colliery Downs Pit Explosion – Hetton – 1836

DOWNS PIT. Hetton, Durham. 28th. January, 1836.

The accident happened on Thursday afternoon and claimed the lives of twenty men and boys. There were over eighty others working in the mine but they managed to escape through another part of the workings. It was thought to have been caused by a boy leaving a ventilation door open when gas accumulated and was ignited at a naked light. There had been some small explosions at the colliery before. The South Shields Report gives the date as 3rd February 1835 and the number of lives lost as twenty-two.

The explosion occurred at about half-past one and those who died were:-

• George Newton aged 40 years of Low Downs who left a wife and five children.
• Thomas Kay aged 38 years of Low Dows who left a wife who was expecting their eighth child. She died and was buried with him.
• William Wears aged 35 years of Houghton.
• Richard Findlay of High Downs who left a wife and two children.
• Simon Tate aged 33 years of Hetton who left a wife and three children.
• James Cowens aged 25 years of Downs Lane who left a wife and one child.
• John Milburn aged 23 years of Hetton who left a wife and one child.
• John Cleghorn aged 30 years who left a wife.
• John Cleghorn aged 24 years, cousin of John.
• Thomas Findley.
• Richard Findley aged 27 years, brother of Thomas.
• William Halliday aged 19 years of High Downs.
• Mark Dodds aged 18 years of Hetton.
• William Surtees aged 17 years of High Downs.
• William Henry Blake Costdle aged 17 years of High Downs.
• John Gardiner aged 16 years.
• Anthony Cummings aged 10 years.
• The following were taken out of the pit alive but died later:
• Robinson Harland aged 23 years, a single man of Hetton.
• John Walton aged 14 years of Downs Lane.
• Edward Dodds aged 14 years of Hetton.
• Mark Dodds brother of Mark.
• William Ward aged 20 years a single man from Hetton.

The inquest was held at the New Inn, Hetton before coroner T.C. Maynard. John Kendal of Brick Garth, Easington Lane, the deputy overman at the colliery told the court that he had been through all the workings previous to the disaster and none of the men had made any complaint about them being in a foul state. The men on the second shift had come in before he left the pit at ten past ten. The mine was worked with candles and there was an air-door necessary to pass the air into the workings. The trap-door was in the charge of a boy of ten years of aged named Anthony Cummings. About eight in the morning, Mr. Kendal found the door open though it had been closed a few minutes before. The tubs that were on their way to the shaft had been placed so that the door would not shut. Mr. Kendal admonished the putters for this but they said it was s the fault of the trapper for not keeping the tubs back. He pointed out the danger and the putters and trapper said that it would not happen again. Despite this, he thought that the cause of the explosion was the door being left open.

After hearing all the evidence, the Coroner summed up and the jury retired to consider their verdict. They returned and stated, “that the deceased had come to their deaths by accident and the causal explosion of a quantity of inflammable air in the pit”.

REFERENCES
Annals of Coal Mining. Galloway. Vol.2, p.41.
Mining Journal. Vol.ii. p.43.
Latimers Local Records. p.54.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.