WELLINGTON PIT. Unsworth, Durham. 5th. June, 1850.

The colliery was the property of Messrs. Jonasson and Elliott and was 1,080 feet deep and the ventilating current was 60,000 cubic feet per minute. Nearly 160 people were working at the time with naked lights when a large blower suddenly burst out of the Bensham Seam, throwing out large masses of coal and igniting at a candle. Four men were badly burned and others were made unconscious by the afterdamp. The disaster claimed the lives of twelve men and a boy and five were badly injured. There was hardly any damage to the workings reported.

Those who lost their lives were:

  • Robert Purdey.
  • William Purdey.
  • Thomas Hall.
  • William Nixon.
  • Hugh Holland.
  • Robert Story.
  • William Jobling.
  • George Ramsey.
  • George Blakey.
  • Thomas Clint.
  • George Green.

Those who survived were:

  • Andrew Clint.
  • Luke Shanks.
  • James Gilroy.
  • George Gascoyne.

An account of the disaster was given by William Mould, a deputy at the colliery who was underground when the accident occurred:

I was in the pit when she fired at the south-west point, a little before nine o’clock. There were six men in that part of the mine and I felt a sudden slight shock and afterwards found that she had fired in the easternmost part. I came to a door which had been blown down and then proceeded to a place where a “galloway” was standing across the teamed way and the fullway. Several men were there. I found the afterdamp, which was very strong and several of the bodies lay in that part and some were got out alive. The bodies were going out in about half an hour and all that was dead in that part of had been killed by the afterdamp and had not been burnt. There were eight in that part and all had come from the same station and met the afterdamp. If that had remained in that district they would have been safe. After that, I went to the place where she fired and five bodies were got out dead and were slightly burnt. She was sufficiently pure to travel in about half an hour after the explosion took place. The shock did not put out my candle but it went out when I arrived at the afterdamp. I have examined the part where she fired and a “blower” has come off which was the cause of the accident.

After hearing all the evidence and the Coroner’s summing up, the jury returned the following verdict:

We are of the opinion that Robert Storey and twelve others came to their deaths by the firing of Usworth pit on the 5th inst. from a blower which moved the coal from the workings and ignited at a candle and that there was no want of ventilation or care to our knowledge.

 

REFERENCES
Annals of Coal Mining. Galloway. Vol. 2. p.52.
Mining Journal Vol. xx, p. 276.
Latimers’ Local Records. p. 278.
Durham Advertiser.

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

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