WOOD PIT.  Haydock, Lancashire. 7th. June, 1878.

In 1878 the village of Haydock was described in contemporary accounts as small, neat and clean, considering the nature of the employment of most of the village which was coal mining and all the collieries in the village were owned by Messrs. Richard Evans and Company. On the morning of the 7th June 1878, men started out at four and five in the morning to be at work at the coalface by six. A cyclone was approaching the British Isles from the Atlantic. Many of the newspapers of the time in mining areas around the country published articles about the dangers of mine explosions in these conditions. The Sheffield Telegraph published “A Warning to Colliers” and went on to say that they should take great care at work and not use any naked lights in the mines and great care should be taken with the ventilation of the mines.

As the men arrived at the pit, they went to the lamp-house for their lamps and then made their way to the pit bank to descend and start their work. The Redford family, father and three sons entered the cage when one of the bays found that he had left his tea can behind so he hurried off home to get it. He would have been annoyed at the time, but in the light of events relieved, to find that when he returned to the pit bank, the officials would not let him go down the mine as he was late. He was sent home without pay. Once at the bottom, the men made their way to their workplaces in the Upper Florida Mine.

From the pit eye, the roads to the Florida Mine sloped about one in five. The workings were reached at a depth of about two hundred yards by a road two hundred yards long that had been cut through the Red Rock Fault that caused a downthrow of about fifty feet in the coal seam. The workings consisted of two short jig brows, one a little to the west of the second. There was a returning gallery leading to the head of the second jig brow and a working parallel to the first and leading to a ventilation tunnel which led into a drop-pit in the upcast shaft.

They made their way up the steep one in three roadway to the workings, ready to start work at six in the morning. During the morning there were two reports of men making their way to the surface. One had trouble with his lamp, the other with his clog. Both later reported that they had a great fear of returning down the pit, a feeling that undoubtedly saved their lives.

The day began in such a normal and routine way that no one realised that the stage was set, for what is still on record as the worst disaster in a Haydock pit and one of the worst in the Lancashire coalfield as a whole. As the work got underway, Roger Banks, of Vista Cottages, Earlestown, began his inspection of the workings. He was the deputy overlooker and he was responsible for this part of the mine.

During the morning the mine manager, Mr. John Turton, who was a well qualified and experienced man, descended the pit to make his inspection. at about ten-thirty, the two men met in a large brick-lined tunnel which was the main haulage road and Mr. Banks made his report to Mr. Turton. It was routine and there was nothing out of the ordinary. The two men parted, Mr. Banks making his way to the workings and Mr. Turton to the pit eye.

At a little after eleven o’clock in the morning, Mr Turton had reached the surface and as he walked away from the pit he saw, to his horror, plumes of dust and smoke coming from both the upcast and the downcast shafts. To a well qualified and experienced man that he was, this could mean only one thing; there had been an underground explosion.

With total disregard for his safety, he at once ran back to the cage and ordered the engineman, Arnold Shufflebotham, to lower him into the pit leaving instructions that runners should be sent to seek out help. Once at the pit bottom he started to do what he could to improve the ventilation by adjusting the air doors. With his understanding of the ventilation system of the mine, he closed doors that had been blown open by the explosion to get the best possible supply of air to the workings.

His experience told him that there was little he could do for those caught in the initial blast, but he would know that after an underground explosion there was a more deadly danger, that of afterdamp which is mainly deadly carbon dioxide, that is formed as a result of the explosion. It says much for the courage and the steel nerves of this man that he worked on steadfastly in a desperate attempt to save as many men as he could that had survived the blast. The men he found lying near the shaft he turned on their backs so that they could breath more easily although they were unconscious from the effects of the afterdamp. The stories of the survivors paint a vivid picture of the conditions underground and as with so many disaster stories; they are little short of miraculous.

One of the survivors, George Whitley, was exceptionally lucky because this was the third explosion that he had survived. He had worked in the mines for twenty years and at the time of the explosion was in the Lower Florida Mine but on the other side of the pit when he heard the all too familiar sound of an underground explosion. He immediately made his way down the tunnel which he took every day and which he knew well, but he had gone no more than ten yards when he was overcome by the afterdamp which he related later was “the worst I have ever known”. He passed out twice more before he reached the pit eye where he passed out for the third time but he was found and sent to the surface, probably by Mr. Turton. He realised only too well, how lucky he had been and that in just a few more minutes he would have been a dead man.

William Green and Peter Monohan were both working at the bottom of the downcast shaft and were both knocked down by the force of the explosion and had their lamps blown out. Both were rescued by the actions of Mr. Turton.

A graphic account was given to the press by Edward Edwards, a collier. He was saying his grace prior to eating his dinner, something that he always did when he heard the explosion. He heard a voice say, “Lads, there’s been an explosion.”  Everyone in the area rushed out and made for the bottom of the pit for they all knew and feared the afterdamp. Edwards went past an unconscious man, whose name is not recorded, and dragged him out by his feet. The man later recovered. Later Edwards related to the press:

All the men prayed to God to help them and we prayed to. You never heard such praying in all your life. The force of the blast was terrific and I have no doubt that all those in the workings have perished.

Richard Bate, a dataller of Park Road Parr, was working at the top of the downbrow tunnel at the time of the explosion and was in the act of making a signal to the haulage engine. He heard a noise which was followed by a lot of smoke and dust but he did not see any fire although his face was burnt. He made his way to the side of a brick-built arch but before he could get away he was overcome by the afterdamp. When he came to he was in a cart at the surface.

Thomas Sutton lived in Crow Lane, Newton, and was working as a dataller in the Ravenhead Mine, about fifteen yards from the furnace getting out coal and dirt. He was knocked off his feet by the force of the explosion but remembers getting to the bottom of the winding shaft by passing through two ventilation doors that were open. After that, he remembers nothing until he was at home.

Matthew Chorley, of Earlestown, was the furnace tender and felt a strong blast of air. He was not affected by the afterdamp and made his way to the pit eye and then to the surface without incident. Matthew was the only men to get out of the pit unaided and came to the surface in the cage in which John Turton descended into the fatal pit.

Patrick Melia, of Earlestown, was a metalman working in the Ravenhead Top Delf Mine. He remembered the explosion and tried to run the two hundred yards to the shaft bottom and remembered nothing until Mr. Turton got him out and he recovered at the pit bank. John Williams, also of Earlestown, was working as a hooker-on when he saw dust coming up the shaft and felt himself “going to sleep.”  He fell near the knocker and came to on the pit brow suffering a little from the effects of the gas.

Martin King, of Haydock, was hooking-on on the top deck in the Ravenhead Main Delf Mine when he heard a loud report and immediately lost consciousness. When he came to, he was on the pit brow. Just before the explosion, he was talking to William Wilcox, one of the victims, who had told him it was just before eleven o’clock. William Howard, a dataller of Haydock was in the Higher Ravenhead Mine. He heard the report and tried to get the one hundred yards to the pit eye but was overcome by the gas. He recovered on the put bank after Mr. Turton’s efforts got him out of the mine.

John Leyland, who was in the Higher Florida Mine, was rescued by his brother James who was working at the nearby Ram pit and made his way to the pit as soon as he heard of the accident. He descended the pit, found his brother and carried him on his back. He was reported to be seriously injured and not expected to recover but his name does not appear on the list of victims so it may be assumed that he lived. Thomas Wood was working with his father at the time of the explosion, inspecting a brick framework. He had a desperate struggle to get out of the pit with the afterdamp but he made it to the surface. His father’s body was found near the bottom of the shaft.

As well as these thirteen a further fourteen were listed in the contemporary accounts giving a total of twenty-seven men getting out of the pit after the explosion and a further ten were reported to have got out of the pit injured.

Meanwhile, the runners that Mr. Turton had dispatched for help made their way through the village. Officials of the Company and a ready army of volunteer workmen began to assemble at the pit bank. Mr. C. Pilkington, one of the company’s assistant surveyors and other officials on Richard Evans & Company were soon on the scene and Mr. Chadwick, The general manager of Mines for the company took charge of the underground operations.

Several local doctors arrive and one, Dr. Watkins of Earlestown, went down the pit to help the rescuers that were overcome by the gas. He later reported to the press that, “some of the men, were too eager with their work. Many of them are searching for missing relatives and place little value on their own lives in a very dangerous situation.”  No one could work in the conditions underground for longer than ten minutes and then they had to go to the surface, often in a semiconscious state to be revived by the doctors who had now arrived at the colliery. Tea and other sustenance were provided at the pit bank.

The damage to the workings and the roadways was soon evident and about one hundred men were engaged in clearing the roadways and trying to improve the ventilation so that they could get into the workings and get the bodies out. Even at this early stage in the operations, it was realised that there was little hope of anyone in the workings being alive.

By all accounts, this was a dreadfully dangerous and grizzly job. Broken tubs and mutilated ponies littered the loads and had to be moved. The first of the victims that were encountered were badly mutilated with limbs and heads missing and all burnt and black. Two miners who were found at this early stage was brought out alive but badly injured. Their names are not recorded but they died soon after they were got to the surface despite the medical attention that they received at the pit bank.

As the bodies were found they were placed at the side of the road with a ticket attached to them giving them a number and saying where they were found. Since there was a great deal of difficulty and danger in removing them from the pit they were left at the side of the road. Mr. Chadwick led the working parties and they brought in fresh air as they went along.

Many of the local colliers arrived at the pit to offer help. Richard Evans was there and Mr. Smethurst of Messrs. Dewhurst, Hoyle and Smethurst went down the pit to give practical assistance and advice. Together they inspected the mouth of the return tunnel, at the entrance to which was the ventilation furnace which, by some quirk of circumstance, was still alight. As the mine was full of methane gas, it was considered prudent to extinguish the furnace so as to remove any cause of a second explosion and this was done at once.

As Mr. Smethurst ascended the pit, he met Mr. Crippen of the Bryn Hall Collieries and Mr. C. F. Clarke of Garswood Iron and Coal Co. who had just arrived to offer their services but it was seen that Mr. Chadwick was capable and fully in charge of the underground operations. When Mr. Chadwick had organised the work below ground and he was satisfied that all was going well, he returned to the surface.

Periodically, men engaged in the search party were brought to the surface suffering from the effects of the afterdamp. They were attended to by the doctors that had arrived on the scene, Dr. Simpson of Haydock, Drs. Twyford, Jameson, Tatham and Martyn of St. Helens and Dr. Mather of Ashton were all there.

The news of the disaster spread slowly through the village. The villagers were aware of the flurry of activity as the runners went back and forth with messages but few realised the reason for all this activity but as they became aware that something was wrong a small crowd began to gather around the pit bank. Due to the fact that the workmen’s homes were scattered over a large area, Earlestown, Ashton and Haydock in the main, it was only late in the afternoon that the news reached the houses and expected loved ones did not return home from work.

A large crowd began to gather at the colliery and the all too familiar scene that had been repeated at colliery accidents up to modern times began to unfold. A scene of a crowd of silent anxious men and women, mainly women standing around feeling so helpless the strain of the awaiting showing on their faces. Sergeant Gardiner, the local policeman had little trouble with the crowd who were stunned with shock. There was little external evidence of the carnage underground. The pit gear which stood over the downcast shaft and was used for winding men and coal was intact and usable to wind men and materials. The upcast shaft had the furnace light at the bottom and could not be used to wind men and materials.

Underground rescue teams were beginning to see the scale of the destruction. All the stoppings had been destroyed and this had put an end to the ventilation of the mine. There was still a lot of afterdamp but increasing amounts of methane were issuing from the workings. The presence of gas, of course, posed a serious problem to the rescue teams and according to contemporary prints, a primitive form of breathing apparatus was used by the teams although there are no accounts of its use in the surviving records.

The work continued throughout Friday evening. By this time it was realised that there was no hope of finding anyone alive in the workings and the main objective was to get the bodies out as quickly as possible. At this time it was thought that there were as many as two hundred and thirty victims but this was only an estimated number and there was confusion over the exact figure.

There had been about two hundred and thirty lamps given out at the beginning of the shift but the exact figure could not be given. The lamps were issued to the men from the lamp house when they had been cleaned and serviced by women and boys. They were issued by Mr. Millington who was killed in the explosion so the exact total could not be ascertained. As Friday drew to a close, men were still working underground, having found twenty bodies and the silent waiting crowd on the surface gradually lost hope of seeing their loved ones alive again.

Early on Saturday, Mr. Hedley, the Assistant Government Inspector of Mines arrived at the colliery. The District Inspector of Mines, Mr. Henry Hall was away at a conference in France at the time but he came back as a soon as he heard of the disaster to arrive at the colliery a week later. His deputy was investigating an explosion at Mold in North Wales at the time and so it fell to Mr. Hedley to be the first Government representative at the scene. At about six o’clock on Saturday, the first jig brow was reached but the ventilation was poor and the presence of methane showed in the miner’s lamps on the exploring party. With the possibility of another explosion, it was decided to withdraw. For two hours working parties tried to improve the ventilation but all they had to show for their efforts was the recovery of two more bodies believed to be Edward Waterworth, a married man with six children and his son Henry aged twenty one who worked as his drawer both of New Boston, Haydock.

As the furnace had been extinguished, it was realised that there would not be enough ventilation for the teams working in the mine. To try and increase the ventilation a bucket chain was formed to pour cold water down the downcast shaft and a steam jet was installed in the upcast shaft. Even so, it was found that three thousand cubic feet of air a minute was being lost and the underground teams were unable to cope with the large volumes of gas that they encountered.

An underground meeting of engineers was held at the furnace in the High Delf Mine. Present were Messrs Hedley, Chadwick and Pickard, the Miner’s Agent and managers from Pemberton and Bickershaw collieries and Cross Tetley & Co. Three possibilities were considered at the meeting. One was to relight the furnace, secondly to put in additional steam jest to those already being used and thirdly to fit a powerful fan to try to clear the gas from the workings. At about four on Saturday afternoon the meeting was adjourned to the surface. The first was considered too dangerous with so much gas in the mine and if a fan was erected, then all the underground work would have to stop. The decision was taken to introduce more steam jets in the upcast shaft and the work was completed by eight on Sunday morning.

The work of clearing the roads and recovering the bodies could then continue and the exploring parties under the direction of Mr. Chadwick, Mr Dickenson, another Mines inspector that had arrived at the colliery to offer assistance, Isaac Billinge the manager of Leigh Pit in Haydock and had lived through two other explosions at that pit and Messrs. Hedley and Pickard went below. The conditions were appalling and extremely dangerous and the morale of the men took a serious set back when one of the rescue teams, James Callaghan of Ashton, was buried under a sudden fall of roof. He was working at the entrance of a tunnel to the Florida Mine and was completely buried by the fall. He was quickly dug out and found to have sustained two broken legs and to be severely crushed about the body. He was taken to the Cottage Hospital in Sutton St, Helens where he died later that night. He was aged twenty-seven years and lived in Lodge Lane. Ashton with his wife who did not enjoy good health and a ten year old son who was on the pit bank when his injured father was brought out of the pit.

On the Saturday morning, the Inspector of mines received a telegram from Mr. Cross, the Home Secretary which read:

Make all efforts to save survivors, if any, at risk. I await particulars with deep anxiety. Express deep sympathy for me. You will of course, communicate with me fully.

Mr. Hedley replied:

We have done our best to save lives, but unfortunately, all hope was lost from the first. We have had consultations with the engineers as to the best means to recover the bodies, the owners and all interested thank you for your sympathy.

The men were still working below, building brick stoppings to cut off the ventilation to the other mines so that all the available air could pass through the workings of the Florida Mine and during the night, under the direction of Mr, Hedley and Mr. Pickard, the stopping of nine-inch brickwork were put in. By these efforts, the flow of air passing through the workings rose to twelve thousand cubic feet per minute.

Mr. Chadwick was pleased with the progress and considered a fourth steam jet. He went home at ten o’clock at night leaving instructions for the upcast shaft to be covered with three-inch planks so that the cold night air would not condense the stem from the jets and all the return air to be sent up the upcast chimney.

The Reverend Sherlock, the Vicar of Haydock, had spent most of the day at the colliery and visiting the men who had survived, in their homes. His sermon on the Whit Sunday captured the sombre mood that prevailed in the village. The tone was simple and sympathetic as he spoke to his flock as one who shared their grief and desolation.

At the morning service at St. Thomas’s in Ashton, Rev H. Siddall also spoke of the disaster. Two of the survivors were in the church. Aaron Marsh and James Heaton gave public thanks to almighty God for their deliverance. The congregation was deeply affected by the tragedy and the Rev, Siddall had great difficulty in getting through the service. He spoke of the trials and tribulations of life.

Both Rev. Sherlock and Rev. Siddall knew that the death of a collier caused greet hardship within the family but, as we shall see, later the disaster caused such a great deal of public sympathy that many donations were made to the Relief Fund for the victim’s families.

Monday 10th June brought developments at the pit. During the night a forth steam jet had been rigged in the upcast shaft and this was successful in drawing in more air through the pit. Steady progress was made with the brickwork stoppings. Mr Hall the government Inspector for the area had now arrived at the colliery and he and Mr Chadwick supervised the work with the Inspector for the Manchester area, Mr Dickenson. The work went well but proceeded with great caution as there was still a very large amount of gas flowing into the workings.

The top of the jig brown on the working side of the mine was reached on Monday morning and it was possible to start the recovery of the majority of the bodies. The scene that met the rescuers was one of utter devastation and destruction. stoppings, Bratticing and large sections of the roof which had fallen due to the supports being blown out. The bodies of the men and horses were scorched, blackened and mangled, many had had their clothes burned off, some had been blown around the workings, coming to rest on the top of the large falls of the roof. these large falls were left even though it was thought that there might be a body under them and only the bodies that were easily reached were taken to the pit bottom. They each had a ticket attached to them to say where they were found and assigned a number. The position where the body was found was marked on a plan of the mine.

By eight on the Monday morning, nineteen corpses were at the pit bottom and they had been removed to the surface by eight-thirty. Great care was taken so as not to cause the waiting families any undue suffering. a minimum of activity was made as they arrived at the pit head and once on the surface they were carefully hidden and taken to a waiting railway truck, to a point south of the winding apparatus and from there by colliery carts and wagons were waiting to take their sad burdens across the fields to the stable yard near the main colliery offices of Richard Evans & Co. which was used as an emergency mortuary. The more usual route through the village was avoided.

At the temporary mortuary in the stable yard, women of the village volunteered to clean the bodies and lay them out on wooden trestle tables that had been erected. Men made the coffins in the workshop across the yard and the cleaned bodies, after being made presentable as possible, were placed in them. The clothes that had been found with the body were placed at the foot of the coffins.

This sad task was completed by noon and by this time a dense crowd had gathered around the doorway waiting until they were told to enter and try to identify their husbands, sons and friends. They had waited a long time and not even a heavy thunderstorm had dispersed them. The men stood silent with downcast eyes that seemed glazed with grief and the women rocked themselves back and forth as they walked around aimlessly.

As the bodies were brought out of the mine and identified the County Coroner, Mr. Driffield opened the inquest into the disaster at the Rams Head hotel in Haydock. Evidence of identification of the victims was taken from the person who had made the identification and an order for the internment was then made by the coroner, the family were then allowed to take the body home and make the funeral arrangements. Within two hours only three coffins remained unclaimed. Some coffins were taken away on a hearse but the majority were borne on spring carts with sad-eyed men and women around them as they made their way to Earlestown, Ashton or the scattered rows of cottages in Haydock.

More sad tales were emerging. The drawers were in many cases, known only by their nick manes such as “Slop”, “Canary” and “Jo” and their real names were known only to the collier with whom they lodged so they could be identified only by a surviving member of the household. It was realised that the Boon family had lost five members and probably six. A woman who lost two sons in this explosion, had three sons in the Queen Pit explosion, two of which were killed but the third escaped and died later of smallpox.

Many of the victims came from the Mold area of North Wales and a young woman is reported to have arrived at the railway station at Earlestown and started making enquiries about the fate of her husband. Some of the dead from this area were sent home in a special train.

It became clear the Edward Sutton of Ashton, who was in the Main Delf Mine at the time of the explosion, took the wrong way out of the pit, got lost and became a victim of the afterdamp. All the men that were working with him at the time escaped safely. When his body was discovered he was described as a “noble figure with a calm face that was so striking” in a report in the Wigan Observer and Advertiser.

As the day drew to a close, twenty-four bodies had been recovered and only three remained in the mortuary as yet unidentified. The only good news to reach the village that day was that Queen Victoria had heard of the disaster and instructed the Home Secretary to send a telegram to Mr Hall. The telegram read:

Her Majesty, has, through the Home Secretary, made inquiries and expressed Her sympathy with the sufferers of the calamity.

The telegram was posted outside the colliery offices and the text of the message was soon passed around the village by word of mouth.

The roads of the parish were lined with women and men dressed in black standing in silent tribute to the victims as they made their last journey. The Newcastle Chronicle reported that:

The Lancashire workman is always anxious that due respect should be rendered to the remains of the dead, and the clergy and the philanthropists of the district have continually protested against the ceremonial indulged in on such occasions but with little result in causing its discontinuance.

The majority of the funerals were conducted in true local style with a gathering of friends and relations. Not even very heavy thunderstorms could prevent the living from giving the dead a “reet gud send off”. The funeral of William Wilcock aged sixty-one was typical and took place on the Tuesday afternoon. The oak coffin was laced in a plumed hearse drawn by two black horses and the mourners were carried in five coaches the three miles Ashton for the interment at St. Thomas’. Many coaches and carts passed about the village carrying men and women dressed in black and a sombre and hectic day it must have been with eleven being buried at St. Thomas’ and two at Ashton St. Oswald’s. At each service, some two or three hundred joined in the hymns with their heads uncovered to the pouring rain, but there was little wailing. The Newcastle Chronicle reporter puts this down to the fact that:

Miners are undemonstrative and it appears “soft” to show signs of grief but their self-restraint is marvellous but it could well have been the effect of mass, numbing shock in the minds of all those present at the services.

Thomas Skidmore, who was a member of the Haydock Colliery Brass Band, was buried at St. James’, Haydock and the band played the Dead March from Saul. As the coffin was being lowered into the grave, one of the band stepped forward and placed Thomas’s instrument on top of the coffin to be buried with him.

At the colliery, the teams had passed the gob and were making their way towards the workings with caution as there was still a lot of gas present. The engineers present had a hurried consultation and it was deemed too dangerous to proceed as it would take only one faulty lamp to cause another explosion. It was resolved at the meeting that the mine should, for the time being, be evacuated. This was done, leaving one or two volunteers below who would monitor the gas.

Above ground, the engineers decided to add yet another steam jet to the ones already working and it was decided to add a fan. The extra steam jet was fitted during the night and Mr Barnes of the Atherton Collieries, who was a former manager of Wood pit. He was put in charge of procuring a suitable fan. He obtained a large centrifugal Schiele fan of the type that had been used in British mines since about 1860 from a Manchester manufacturer. It was brought to Wigan by train but in the meantime, another fan had been found in a local colliery and the installation of this was well advanced when the fan arrived from Manchester. More steam m had to be raised to keep the extra jets working and all available boilers were fired to do this even the locomotives in the colliery yard were used to supply extra steam.

Reports of the men underground said that the airflow was increasing and the gas was being cleared from the workings and the parties went down the mine to continue the work of recovering the bodies. Mr. Chadwick had been taken ill and he did not return to the pit until the 21st June when about one hundred and sixty bodies had been recovered and taken out of the mine but tragedy and danger were not very far away.

The process of identification was going on in front of Mr. Driffield at the Rams Head hotel and as the bodies came out of the mine the problems grew. Most of the bodies had been under large falls of roof for some time and identification was difficult.

The awful job of cleaning the victims and laying then out in the makeshift mortuary continued but the conditions were becoming dreadful. A strong solution of carbolic acid had to be used as a disinfectant and the smell of this mixed with the smell of death made the atmosphere heavy and stagnant. Many of the victims were burnt and blackened, limbs were missing and many had their hands stiffened and burnt in front of their faces as if in the last act, they were trying to protect themselves against the fire that they must have seen sweeping towards them.

The volunteers did their best to spare their friends and relation by doing the best they could in the circumstances, but the identification was often by some mark on the body of from the pile of clothing nearby.

One young woman told the police that she hoped to find her husband by a mark on his left hand that always stayed white, even when he returned from the pit. Some people, although grief-stricken, were calm and composed as they looked at the bodies but others were overwhelmed by the gruesome sights of their dead loved ones. One woman, a baby clasped to her, fell onto the body of her husband and could not be pacified.

When the last body had been recovered, hundreds of men had spent thousands of hours in the work and the workings were sealed. The rescue work had cost the life of and man and all that now remained was for the inquest to determine the cause of the explosion.

The men who died were:

  • John Molyneaux, aged 20 years, dataller who lived in Old Boston, Haydock.
  • James Higson, aged 19 years, waggoner of Dig Nook, Ashton.
  • William Jameson, aged 15 years, pony driver of Derby. St. Earlestown.
  • Edward Sutton, aged 46 years, dataller of Town Green Ashton who left a wife and four children.
  • William Winstanley, aged 12 years, coupler of Battersby Row, Haydock.
  • William Wilcock, aged 61 years, dataller of Kenyons Lane Haydock who left a wife and four children.
  • Thomas Winstanley, aged 13 years, pony driver of Mill Lane, Ashton.
  • Thomas Shaw, aged 22 years, dataller of Earlestown. His brother James was also killed.
  • William Unsworth, aged 23 years. He worked as a jigger.
  • James Leyland, aged 40 years, collier of Newton Common, Newton. John Jones was his drawer.
  • Joseph Hindley, aged 13 years, drawer of Old Boston, Haydock who left a wife. He was identified by his mother, Mary who lost two other sons, John and James in the explosion and another son and her husband in the Queen Pit explosion a few years before.
  • Henry Waterworth, aged 23 years, drawer of New Boston, Haydock. He was buried with his father and his brother.
  • Thomas Dixon, aged 48 years, jigger of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock who left a wife and two children.
  • William Smith (Snr.), aged 33 years, dataller of Heath Road, Ashton, who left a wife and three children.
  • William Smith (Jnr.), aged 19 years. He was identified by his father Henry, a spinner from Golborne.
  • John Evans, aged 23 years, collier of Regents Road, Earlestown. He left a widow and four children.
  • William Hindley, aged 12 years. He is listed as a pony driver.
  • James Griffiths, aged 14 years. He was identified by his brother John who was a waggoner at Wood Pit but had not gone to work because of a festering finger. James was a hooker-on.
  • James Barnes, aged 30 years, dataller from Cross Street, Earlestown who was identified by James Livesley.
  • John Evans, aged 14 years. Hooker-on of Viaduct Street.
  • Henry Waterworth, aged 23 years, dataller of New Boston, Haydock who left a wife and child.
  • Edward Waterworth, aged 50 years, collier of New Boston, Haydock who left a wife and six children. His sons Thomas and Henry were also killed in the disaster.
  • Robert Rowland, aged 20 years, drawer of Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • Evan Meredith, aged 36 years, collier of Newton Common who left a wife and four children.
  • John Hindley, aged 12 years, jigger of Haydock who was identified by his mother, Mary and buried with his two brothers James and Joseph.
  • Jonathan Rowley, aged 35 years, collier of Lyme Street, Haydock who left a wife and six children one of whom, Henry was killed in the explosion.
  • Enoch Booth, aged 25 years, collier of Haydock.
  • John Hughes, aged 40 years, drawer of Regents road, Newton who left a wife and six children.
  • Thomas Pilkington, aged 26 years, collier of Kenyons Lane, Haydock. He left a wife and two children.
  • Daniel Wilson, aged 26 years, drawer of Lime Kiln Lane, Ashton.
  • James Whittle, aged 62 years, dataller of Old Boston, Haydock who left a wife and two children.
  • Richard Evans, aged 20 years, collier of Abbots Houses, Haydock.
  • Thomas Clare, aged 37 years, collier of Gibraltar Row, Newton. He left a wife and five children.
  • John Blinstone, aged 20 years, drawer of Newton who was a single man.
  • John Knowles, aged 23 years. a collier of Barnes Row, Haydock.
  • James Wild, aged 23 years, collier of Penny Lane, Haydock. He left a wife and two children.
  • John Pilling, aged 24 years, collier of Greenall Row, Haydock.
  • James Pierpoint, aged 28 years, drawer of Penny Lane, Haydock for James Wild.
  • William Turncock, aged 28 years, collier of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock. He left a wife and four children.
  • Thomas Skidmore, aged 24 years, collier of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock.
  • Edward Evans, aged 40 years, collier of 30, Viaduct St., Earlestown who left a wife and five children.
  • Thomas Reed, aged 36 years, dataller of Gibraltar Row Newton. He left a widow and two children.
  • James Fairhurst, aged 41 years, collier of Rams Head Row, Haydock who left a widow.
  • William Fairhurst, aged 27 years, dataller of Crow Lane, Newton.
  • Thomas Whittle, aged 20 years, collier of Old Boston, Haydock.
  • Joseph Norbury, aged 44 years, collier of Old Boston, Haydock who left a wife and two children.
  • Thomas Waterworth, aged 12 years. Of New Boston, Haydock who was employed as a balancer.
  • Martin Roach, aged 22 years, dataller of Leigh St., New Boston, Haydock.
  • John Murphy, aged 17 years, drawer of Robins Row, Newton, who was drawer to Richard Evans.
  • Thomas Arnold, aged 25 years, drawer of Market Street, Earlestown. He left a widow and one child.
  • James Hindley, aged 19 years, drawer of Old Boston, Haydock who left a wife.
  • Peter Millington, aged 32 years, collier of Earlestown who left a wife and two children. His brother George was also lost on the explosion.
  • William Cunnah, aged 20 years, drawer who lodged in Viaduct St, Earlestown with Charles Evans whose wife identified William from his features and a shilling and half an ounce of tobacco that she gave him to go to work that morning and was still in his pockets.
  • Peter Nolan, aged 19 years, drawer of New Boston, Haydock.
  • George Hales, aged 32 years, dataller of Church Road, Haydock.
  • James Clifford, aged 21 years, drawer of Clipsley Row, Haydock.
  • William Dearden, aged 32 years, dataller of Crow Lane, Newton who supported his aged mother.
  • James Dearden, aged 28 years, jigger of Clipsley Lane, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • William McGlynn, aged 16 years, drawer of Heath Lane, Ashton. He was identified by his father, Charles, who was able to make the identification from a clog which he mended for William with a piece of leather and some brattice nails two days before the explosion.
  • Peter Roach, aged 22 years, dataller Leigh Street, New Boston, Haydock. His brother Michael was also killed.
  • Thomas Wood, aged 25 years, bricksetter of Dobbs Court, Ashton.
  • Thomas McCarty, aged 20 years, collier of Crow Lane, Newton. He left a wife and a child.
  • John Welding, aged 15 years, pony driver of 12, Lyme St., Haydock. His brother, William was also lost in the explosion.
  • Robert Hughes, aged 26 years, drawer of Earlestown. Robert was drawer to Thomas McCarty.
  • John Jones, aged 19 years, drawer of Viaduct St. Earlestown. His collier was James Leeward.
  • Llewellyn Lloyd, aged 29 years, collier of Regents Street, Earlestown who left a wife and two children.
  • James Thomas, aged 32 years, collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • Daniel Gittens, aged 35 years, collier of America Lane, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • Michael Roach, aged 25 years, dataller of Robbins Row, Newton. Who left a wife and a child.
  • James Lloyd, aged 27 years, collier of Regents Street, Earlestown who was married with two children.
  • James Roberts, aged 15 years, pony tenter of Heath Lane, Ashton.
  • John Evans, aged 37 years, collier of Leigh Street, Newton who left a wife and six children.
  • Henry Rowley, aged 13 years, jigger of Lyme Street, Haydock. His father Jonathan was also killed in the explosion.
  • John Jones, aged 28 years, collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • John Edwards, aged 49 years, collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown who left a wife and two children.
  • George Cunliffe, aged 24 years. Of Old Road, Ashton who was drawer to William Roberts.
  • William Roberts, aged 35 years, collier of Heath Lane, Ashton who was a married man with five children.
  • William Boon, aged 15 years, drawer of Penny Lane, Haydock. He came from a family of four children all of whom were killed in the explosion. Isaac Boon, aged 18 years, collier of Penny Lane, Haydock. He left a wife and a child.
  • Thomas Boon, aged 18 years, drawer of Lodge Lane, Haydock.
  • Charles Redman, aged 26 years, dataller of new Boston, Haydock.
  • John Jones, aged 22 years, dataller of Williams Square, Newton.
  • James Peake, aged 14 years, pony driver of New Boston, Haydock.
  • Job Swain, aged 18 years, jigger of Clipsley Lane, Haydock.
  • John Boon (snr.), aged 42 years, collier of Lodge Lane, Haydock. John was brother to Nathan.
  • Edward Richardson, aged 39 years, collier of Heath Lane, Ashton. He left a wife. He worked with John Boon.
  • Thomas Thompson, aged 28 years. Of Lodge Lane, Haydock.
  • Hugh Wade, aged 21 years, drawer of New Boston, Haydock. He was a drawer for John Welding.
  • John Cusic, aged 18 years, drawer of New Boston, Haydock. John was John KingÕs drawer.
  • James Fox, aged 27 years, drawer of Back-bridge Street, Earlestown. He was drawer to Thomas Thompson.
  • John King, aged 31 years, collier of Duke Street, Earlestown who left a wife and three children.
  • Thomas Melling, aged 22 years, dataller.
  • George Green, aged 15 years, pony driver of Leigh Street, Earlestown.
  • Peter Tyrer, aged 51 years, dataller of Old Whint Road, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • James Twiss, aged 27 years, collier of Toll Bar, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • Woodwin Jones, aged 21 years, drawer of Toll Bar, Haydock.
  • Peter Hughes, aged 37 years, collier of Old Whint Road, Haydock who left a wife and four children.
  • John Pimblett (Sen). A drawer of 27, Lyme Street, Haydock. His father, Edward was buried with him.
  • Peter Sharples, aged 35 years. Collier of 8, Kenyons Lane, Haydock.
  • Bernard Nolan, aged 27 years. Collier of New Boston. Haydock who left a wife and two children. His brother, Peter was also lost in the explosion.
  • William Leyland, aged 46 years. Collier of Abbotts Cottages, Haydock who left a wife.
  • Joseph Twiss, aged 22 years. He was a dataller of Clipsley Lane, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • James Owen. Aged 14 years, drawer of 8, Kenyons Lane, Haydock and buried with his brother, William.
  • George Danks, aged 24 years. He was listed as a dataller in the official list.
  • Matthew Fairhurst, aged 24 years, drawer of Lyme Street, Haydock. He was drawer to William Leyland.
  • Samuel Winstanley, aged 51 years, collier of Battersby Row, Haydock who left a wife and three sons. Two of the sons were killed in the explosion.
  • Joseph Cotterall, aged 27 years, dataller of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock.
  • Robert Ellis, aged 33 years. Dataller of Kenyons Lane, Haydock.
  • William Owen, aged 12 years, drawer of Kenyons Lane, Haydock.
  • Edward Byron, aged 16 years, drawer of Old Fold, Haydock. He was drawer to Peter Hughes.
  • James Bibby, aged 56 years, dataller of Haydock Green.
  • James Winstanley, aged 18 years, drawer of Battersby Row, Haydock. His brother, William and father Samuel were also lost.
  • John Green (Jnr.), aged 23 years, collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown who left a wife.
  • Thomas Pimblett, aged 36 years, collier of Lyme Street, Haydock who left a wife and five children. He also lost his son John.
  • Thomas Sharples (Jnr), aged 41 years, collier of 52, Parr Road.
  • Ralph Ashcroft, aged 21 years, drawer of Twenty Eight Row. Haydock who left a wife and two children. His father and other brother, both named James were killed.
  • George Morton, aged 58 years, dataller of Clipsley Cottages, Haydock who left a wife and eight children.
  • James Ashcroft (Snr), aged 53 years, collier of 2, Lyme Street, Haydock. He was father to Ralph and James (Jnr).
  • James Ashcroft (Jnr). Aged 16 years, drawer of Lyme Street, Haydock. His brothers Ralph and his father James were also lost in the explosion.
  • James Whittle, aged 62 years, dataller of Old Boston, Haydock who left a wife and two children.
  • William Carey, aged 16 years, drawer of Toll Bar House, Burtonwood.
  • Joseph Green, aged 23 years, drawer of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock who was a single man.
  • John Pimblett (Jnr), aged 13 years, drawer of Lyme Street, Haydock. He was buried with his father Thomas.
  • William Welding, aged 21 years, dataller of Lyme Street, Haydock. He was employed by Hugh Wade. His brother, John was also lost.
  • John Redford, aged 15 years. a pony driver of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock.
  • James Greenall, aged 34 years, collier of viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • James Dillon, aged 16 years, drawer from Lodge Lane, Haydock.
  • John Welding, aged 36 years, collier whose drawer was Hugh Wade.
  • John Conway, aged 20 years. Dataller of Derby Street, Earlestown.
  • George Powell, aged 35 years, dataller of 3, Alma cottages, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • Edward Pimblett, aged 43 years, collier of Lyme Street Haydock.
  • James Lyon, aged 44 years. A dataller of Kenyons Lane, Haydock who left a wife and six children.
  • Edward Rodgers, aged 37 years. a dataller of 8, Williamson Square, Haydock who left a wife and two children. His brother, Robert was also lost in the disaster.
  • Robert Rodgers, aged 45 years. Dataller of 57, Regents Street, Earlestown
  • Thomas Sharples (Snr.), aged 73 years, collier of Park Road Parr who was identified by James Sharples. He was the oldest casualty.
  • James McGovern, aged 42 years, dataller of Crow lane, Earlestown.
  • John Jones, aged 22 years. Of 47, Viaduct Street, Earlestown who left a wife and a child.
  • James Winstanley, aged 57 years, dataller of Crow Lane, Earlestown.
  • Michael King, aged 37 years, dataller of New Boston, Haydock who was a widower with four children.
  • William Walpole, aged 48 years, collier of Clipsley Lane, Haydock.
  • Michael Kelly, aged 27 years, collier of Barbers Square, Ashton.
  • Benjamin Pilling, aged 27 years, dataller of Greenall’s Row, Haydock.
  • Thomas Harrison, aged 53 years, dataller of Mercers Cottages, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • George Millington, aged 37 years, fireman of Crow Lane, Newton who left a wife. His brother Peter was also lost in the explosion.
  • Thomas Stillwell, aged 19 years. A drawer of Bridge street, Earlestown. He was drawer to John Turton.
  • John Turton, aged 30 years, collier of Workhouse Row, Earlestown who left a wife. His drawer was Thomas Stillwell.
  • Richard Green, aged 48 years, collier of Leigh Street, Earlestown who left a wife and four children.
  • William Hughes, aged 20 years, collier of Viaduct Street Earlestown. William Smith, aged 36 years, collier of Crow lane, Earlestown who left a wife and three children.
  • George Swift, aged 31 years, collier of Old Nook Row, Haydock who left a wife.
  • John Swift, aged 29 years. He was drawer to George, his brother.
  • Edward Evans, aged 40 years, collier if Viaduct Street, Earlestown who was identified by his wife, Sarah who lost her husband and two boys Robert and John in the explosion.
  • Robert Evans, aged 19 years, A drawer of 30, Viaduct Street, Earlestown who drew for his father.
  • Thomas Edwards, aged 18 years, drawer of 63 Viaduct Street, Earlestown. He was drawer to George Evans.
  • George Evans, aged 29 years, collier of 29, Viaduct Street, Earlestown who left a wife and four children.
  • Joseph Johnson, aged 14 years, drawer of New House, Haydock.
  • Jonathan Johnson, aged 41 years, collier of New House, Haydock. He left a wife and seven children.
  • John Jordan, aged 25 years, drawer of Market Street, Newton.
  • John Williams. Aged 28 years, collier of Booth street, Earlestown who left a wife and three children.
  • George Whittley, aged 20 years. He was drawer to Thomas Downs.
  • Thomas Downs, aged 43 years. Collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown. George Whittley was his drawer.
  • Nathan Boon, aged 45 years, collier of Penny Lane, Haydock who left a wife and nine children.
  • William Connah, aged 47 years, collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown. A widower who left a child. He was blown to pieces in the explosion and was recognised by a piece of rope that he used as a belt.
  • James Robinson, aged 36 years, collier of Twenty Eight Row, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • Richard Chorley, aged 36 years, collier of Church Row, Haydock who left a wife and three children.
  • William Baines, aged 35 years, collier of Old Fold Cottages, Haydock who left a wife and five children.
  • John Baines, aged 20 years, drawer of Old Fold Cottages, Haydock and drawer to William who was his cousin.
  • Thomas Burrows, aged 19 years, drawer of Ebeneezer Street, Haydock. He drew for Thomas Tyrer.
  • James Gerard, aged 27 years, collier of New Houses, Burtonwood who left a wife and four children. He was drawer for James Clifford.
  • Roger Banks, aged 41 years. The deputy overlooker at the colliery who lived at Vista Court Cottages, Haydock. He left a wife and four children.
  • Charles Hughes, aged 29 years, drawer of 8, Earle Street, Earlestown. He was drawer to Thomas Crawley.
  • Thomas Cawley, aged 30 years, collier of Pig Lane, Ashton who left a wife and two children.
  • Brian Lynch, aged 22 years, dataller of Garswood Lane, Ashton who left a wife and four children.
  • John Heyes, aged 38 years, collier of Church Row, Haydock. Michael Whalin was his drawer.
  • Michael Whalin, aged 21 years, drawer of Bridge Street, Earlestown who drew for John Heyes.
  • Thomas Rowley, aged 15 years, drawer of 37, Lyme Street, Haydock.
  • Robert Kay, aged 30 years, collier of Stone Row, Haydock who left a wife and four children. His drawer was Edward Twiss.
  • Joseph Boon, aged 14 years, drawer of Penny Lane, Haydock. He was drawer for his brother Isaac.
  • Edward Twiss, aged 18 years. Thomas who was drawer for Robert Kay.
  • Francis Molyneaux, aged 51 years, dataller of Haydock who left a wife and five children.
  • John Roberts, aged 20 years. Collier of Viaduct Street, Earlestown who left a wife.
  • Edward Manley, aged 21 years. He was a dataller and lived in Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • Ellis Roberts, aged 21 years, dataller of 147, Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • Charles Green, aged 21 years, collier of 61, Viaduct Street, Earlestown.
  • William Barnes, aged 51 years, collier of Blackbrook Road, Parr who left a wife and six children.
  • Henry Banner, aged 47 years, dataller of Lyme cottages Haydock who left a wife and seven children.
  • James Shaw, aged 17 years, waggoner of Earlestown. His other brother Thomas was also killed.
  • Arthur Gore, aged 25 years, drawer of Chandon street, Earlestown. He was drawer to Peter Melling.

The explosion and the plight of the dependants caught the imagination of the Victorian Public and money flowed into the fund from all over the country. It reached a total of about £25,000 and provided for the widows and children left fatherless by the disaster. There were still payments being made from the Fund in 1911 when the chairman of the Relief Committee was Sir Henry Hall, retired Chief Inspector of Mines. The fund was wound up in 1930 when the remaining funds were passed to the Federation of Lancashire and Cheshire Miners. It is ironic that in the week that the Fund was wound up disaster again visited the Haydock Collieries with the Lyme Pit disaster of 1930.

The inquest was opened on 10th. June by Mr Driffield the County Coroner at the Rams Head Hotel, Haydock and the examination of the witnesses as to the cause of the explosion was begun. Mr Maule QC appeared for the Home Office and Mr. Maskell Peace represented the Colliery owners. The evidence of all the witnesses who had worked in the mine before the explosion was that there was gas in the pit but not enough to cause alarm. There had been no complaint about the ventilation and working conditions and on the day of the explosion it was said that the ventilation was “as good as ever.”

Joseph Waterworth was called and questioned about the ventilation of the workings. It emerged that the anemometer that he used to take the measurements was not in full working order and was rather stiff giving a lower reading than it should have. A plan of the mine was introduced and Mr. Turton gave the court a full and detailed description of the ventilation system. When he finished the inquiry adjourned until Tuesday 16th July at ten in the morning.

James Dickenson of Earlestown worked as a dataller in the down brow side of the tunnel and was at home at the time of the explosion after leaving g the pit at seven in the morning. He said that he had never seen any gas in the place where he worked but he had heard others talking about it in the workings. He had no fear of gas in the mine.

Nathaniel Bryant of Lamberhead Green had worked as a dataller in the mine up the slant up to the morning of the explosion and he believed everything to be in good order when he left at seven. He had been working in Samuel Winstanley’s place which was ten yards from the airway and he had found that there was a good supply of air, He had found a little gas but not enough to be reported to the fireman.

Mr. Hall, the Government Inspector of Mines, said that he would like to examine the man who had given put the lamps on the morning of the disaster, but Mr. Chadwick the manager of the colliery said that after giving out the lamps the man, Mr Millington, had gone down the mine and was one of the victims.

John Turton was recalled and the previous evidence on the ventilation of the mine was read. The jury heard that Mr. Turton had tested for gas in the return airway on the morning of the 7th and had found no gas at all. The point where he did the test was some fifteen yards from the furnace. Two firemen in the pit, James Lyon and George Millington had had reports of large quantities of gas in the mine and that it was dangerous. Both had been killed in the disaster. There was a good supply of brattice cloth and an adequate workforce to erect it. During the day there was himself, the deputy Roger Banks and two firemen too look after the welfare and safety of the men and there was an additional night fireman.

Some of the brattices had been erected in Baines’s place the night before and when he was questioned about this he said the place was four yards wide and there was no difficulty in getting the air round to clear the gas. The brattice ran for about eighty yards and he believed that this would have no effect on the ventilation of the mine since there was a good road for the air both in and out of the place.

The current of air going around the Florida Mine had to travel some four thousand yards from the top of the downcast shaft to the top of the upcast shaft and he thought that the ventilation was good for the forty-eight working places that were in the mine. In answer to the questions about the gas in Wilson’s and Evan’s places, he said that he thought that there was sufficient air to clear it.

The Coroner then turned to the exploration of the workings in which Mr. Turton took part. With all the workings explored it was thought that the explosion originated in Holding’s level at the top of the rise workings. It was thought that it had originated in or near Evan’s place and that the blast had roared down the slant. There were no signs that the force of the blast had gone the other way and there was no indication of a second explosion. Holding’s Level and the area around it was described by Mr. Turton as “like the back of a cannon.”

The bodies of Thomas Clare, Richard Evans, Joseph Whittle and John Pilling was found twenty to thirty yards from their working places. They had all lost their clothing and Pilling’s pick was left behind at the face, indicating that they left in a hurry. The ventilation from Evan’s place went to Whittle’s and Clare’s and from the position and the state of the bodies, it was possible to deduce that something had happened in Evan’s place and that had caused then to leave in a great hurry and try to make their escapes. Most of the other victims were found at their working places.

Mr. Maule asked why he thought that this was the seat if the explosion to which Mr Turton replied that the brattice was knocked down but not burnt. The gas in Evan’s place came from the goaf and on the Monday after the explosion, it was still coming out to a greater or lesser degree. Mr. Turton said he had never seen so much gas from a blower and there was enough to foul the whole of the airways. He thought came from the fault but whether from the Florida Mine or from the unworked mine behind the fault he did not know but the Downall Green Fault was very broken and could give off large quantities of gas.

Having dealt with the source of the gas the Coroner now turned the attention of the jury to the means by which the gas was ignited. In reply to a question about the ignition of the gas Mr. Turton said that people were running away from an outburst of gas and when they met the current of air, it was possible that the flame would go thorough the gauze and ignite the gas but on examining the lamps that had been recovered none gave an indication that this had happened. It was possible that one of the lamps was damaged and that the collier did not know of the damage. However, none of the lamps were missing and there was no evidence to support this. Many of the lamps had been crushed by falls of the roof but none had holes in the gauzes and no unlocked lamps were found in the mine. One lamp was produced at the inquest that appeared to have a red upper gauze indicating that it had got very hot. This was opened and inspected and it was found that the red was rust and that it had not been hot. The lamp belonged to Richard Evans and was found in Holding’s level, the name of the tunnel to the workings.

The foreman of the jury said that there had been previous explosions in the Higher Florida Mine in collieries in Haydock, and on the day of the disaster, the fireman had not considered it necessary to erect gad warnings in the mine. It was also pointed out that the gas reported by a previous witness was not recorded in the fireman’s book. It was his duty to do so and he could not say why this had not been done. It was Mr. Bank’s job to report on the day shift and Mr. Waterworth’s on the night shift. In the light of what had been revealed so far at the inquest, the foreman had altered his view as to the state of the pit and he would see that every precaution to avoid danger in the future would be taken. However, he did consider the pit safe at the time or else he would not have gone down.

Mr Turton said, if the gas was ignited by the flame passing through the gauze as the men ran away, then it could be assumed that there was a large outburst of gas. All the men seem to have got some distance from their working places before they were killed. He thought that the gas came from a large blower in Evan’s place and it was stated at this point in the inquiry that there was no powder used in the mine. This practice had been stopped two and a half years previously.

Mr. Turton then went on to give his own account of what happened when he realised that there had been an explosion. He went down the pit straight away and opened two air doors which sent fresh air to the men who were near the bottom of the shaft, He thought that if he had not done so, the men would have been dead in about five minutes. He thought that there were eight or ten men in the area.

Mr. Peace, representing the colliery owners summed up Mr Turton’s evidence:

There is no doubt that the explosion had arisen through a sudden outburst of gas from Evan’s place, coming from the goaf but how the gas was ignited we can not say.

On the Monday after the explosion, Mr Billinge had gone with Mr Chadwick and some workmen, early in the morning to put up some brattice in the top places and when the work was done he was not satisfied with the conditions so that when Mr. Chadwick went away he stayed with a few men and went alone crawling on his hand and knees without his lamp and handkerchief over his face into the goaf near Evan’s place. He heard a hissing noise and bearing his face, he distinctly felt gas blowing strongly against it from the fault side.

Although he had been a colliery manager for over thirty years he stated that he had never seen a blower so strong. It was still continuing to emit gas on the Thursday but not as strongly and by now it had exhausted itself. He was of the opinion that the men had been running away from this blower and that the gas had ignited at a lamp as they ran away.

Mr. John Chadwick, the general manager of the Richard Evans Collieries was called and questioned on the reporting procedure that was used in the Company. He said that he had not got daily reports from the pits but if there was anything out of the ordinary had occurred he was made aware of it. Every week the mangers of the individual colliers met him either personally or by letter as to the conditions in the pit. It had been some months before the explosion that he had been down Wood pit but he did go down the pits regularly and on the morning if the explosion he was down Pewfall colliery. He was told the news when he got to the surface and was at Wood pit within half an hour.

At the same time that Evans and Clare found the gas, Whittle and Blinstone had found some in their places. About a quarter of a minute would have elapsed for the gas to get to Whittle’s place from Evan’s so he and his drawer ran out at about the same time leaving their lamps and picks behind them leaning against the coal indicating that the was cutting at the time. They had travelled about twenty yards before the explosion. John Knowles and John Pilling who were working nearby had a straight distance to run and had gone about twenty-seven yards. All their lamps and been recovered and were in good condition but the gas mixed with the sir from the ventilation would reach the level at which it would explode and the ignition could have been caused by any of these men running for their lives and having an accident with his lamp.

Mr. Chadwick then gave an account of the gas that they had encountered during the rescue attempts. Early in the morning of 10th June, he had found gas pouring out in torrents to such an extent that the work had to be suspended. On July 1st twenty-five days after the explosion gas was still flowing at a rate of 1,250 cubic feet per minute. This concluded the evidence given by Mr. Chadwick.

Mr. Joseph Dickenson, Senior Inspector of Mines, was the first expert witness to be called. He found that there was much that was not good in the layout of the mine but in his opinion, there was one fatal mistake in the ventilation of the colliery. In the first place, the air had to depend on too many doors and sheets through which it had to pass before it reached the workings. After reaching the working tit had to sweep the workings which were being enlarged daily and as they worked, timber drawn and the roof dropped, It had to ventilate the goaf. The air then went onto the lower workings called the slants and then through the return to the upcast shaft. in his opinion, the state of the workings and the ventilation were such as to make an explosion possible at any time workout there being an outburst of gas.

Mr. Benjamin Bradswaw Glover, mining engineer to Mr. W.J. Leigh M.P. the lessor of the Haydock mines was the next to be called. In March he had spent four days down the mine and was perfectly satisfied with the ventilation and thought that Wood pit was the safest in the village. He had been asked by Mr. Leigh to take his son, Viscount Vernon down a mine and he had no hesitation taking him down Wood pit. While he was down, Mr Leigh asked to see some coal gas and he had asked Mr. Banks to find some but the search was unsuccessful.

At the resumption, Mr. William Pickard the Miners Agent was called. He had been in the mine after the explosion and was resent when most of the bodies had been recovered. Evidence was also taken from James Baines, manager of Lyme pit and from Walter Topping engineer to Cross Tetley Collieries. The evidence given by all these men corroborated that given by other witnesses.

The Coroner the declared that all the evidence was concluded then asked Mr Peace, who was acting for the colliery proprietors to make his closing remarks. He began by saying that the proprietors and management of the colliery were distressed and appalled at the sad accident which had resulted in the loss of the lives of their workmen. He went on:

The disaster was entirely unexpected in a mine that gave off so little gas. it was all very well for the learned Inspector to come and say that the ventilation was conducted on an improper system. If the management had thought that the mine was unsafe, they would have withdrawn the workmen. Waterworth, the night fireman, and made his rounds and the mine was safe at six in the morning when the men started their work. With Mr Banks, the overlooker down the pit with two of the day firemen, do you not think that if the danger had been foreseen, they would have evacuated the pit? These were men on the spot and I draw the conclusion that there was a sudden outburst of gas from the fault behind Evan’s place.

As to the question of the ventilation, it could not be denied that a much greater volume might have lead to clear the gas away safely. The greater volume could have been got by a different system of ventilation that was in use in other mines. The responsibility for the ventilation lay with Mr. John Turton, who you will recollect, had been in the pit on the day of the accident and had only just got up the shaft when the explosion occurred, and you the jury might fairly judge what he would have done if there had been the slightest suspicion of danger. Turton had d hardly got from the pit shaft when a shower of dust and smoke vomited from the pit mouth indicating that there had been an explosion. What did the man do? Why, he descended into the very jaws of death. He went down the pit alone, unaided, in the discharge of his duty to save a many as he could of the valuable lives of his fellow workmen, and by his promptitude and energy in opening the doors in the dark, thus sending a supply of air upon the faces of those nearest the bottom of the shaft, he succeeded in saving the lives of several men. Do you suppose that had man could do his duty like that, would not, had he thought that was any danger in the pit from inadequate ventilation, immediately have stopped the ventilation to the two other mines and turned all available air into the Florida Mine? If the responsible manager of the mine had known and believed that more ventilation was necessary, do you think that a man of his energy, firmness and decision would have hesitated to put more air into the mine?

This again should be contrasted with the evidence of people who had experience of what the mine was liked and what, Gentlemen, could give a more important testimony that Mr. Glover, the mining agent for the lessor. It was Mr Glover6s duty to see that the coal was got in a workmanlike manner. He had been in the habit of making repeated visits to the mine, and what did he say as a person of experience and careful training. There you have proof of what the witness thought if the mine. What would carry greater weight in your minds? Did it not show conclusively that a man of learning, experience and a man of standing and scientific practice believed it to be perfectly safe? This, I and sure, you will come to no other conclusion, if you attach any weight to the evidence of the people aquatinted with the mine with regard to the management and the desire there was on their part to render it safe for the men. Had these men believed that the ventilation was inadequate, I have no doubt that they would have done their best to secure the well being of every person employed. I will ask you now, if you would, to resist the evidence, the reported evidence, that had been tendered over and over again, that there was an enormous volume of gas given off at the fault and that it cam through Evan’s pace and the unfortunate men lying in their death places gave testimony to what had happened. They heard some rush or felt some sudden influx of gas, rushed from their places and in their anxiety to get away, hurried along and possibly, in their haste, caused a flame to pass through the gauze of a lamp. Whether ignition was brought about in this way or by a defective lamp, or by some other means, I do not think I can ignore the force of the evidence given by people employed in the mine and the people engaged in it since, that there was an enormous outburst of gas and that had caused the explosion. Those people who are not disposed to attribute the explosion to this cause, do not deny the possibility of it, and I trust, you, the jury when you come to give your verdict, will find that the explosion had come from unexpected circumstances.

After this passionate address to the jury, Mr peace stepped down and Mr Maule, Q who appeared for the Home Office took the floor to make his final summing up. He addressed the jury:

Your duties are to ascertain the causes of the explosion and the cause of the explosion would account for the deaths of the one hundred and ninety men.

Your position corresponds with my own; you have nothing to do with the subject except the truth. The inquiry, I need not tell you, is not for the benefit of those who have gone, for those we cannot help but for the state of those who are still alive and might be exposed to similar catastrophes. the value of this inquiry consists of asserting the truth which this dreadful explosion may tell us.

The jury returned the following verdict after an hour:

We believe that there had been fouling of the air connected by an outburst of gas or a fall of roof, but by whom the gas was ignited there is no evidence to show. The explosion was caused by faulty ventilation and by an accumulation of gas near Evan’s place, which had been expelled from thence by a fall of roof, assisted by fouling, which was known to exist previous to the explosion by the firemen and others.

The Government Inspector of Mines, Mr. Henry Hall, thought the ventilation of the mine was defective. He instituted charges to be answered by Mr. John Turton the manager of the Wood pit. Mr. Turton’s Manager’s Certificate was suspended while the proceedings were in progress at the Liverpool Magistrates Court. All the witnesses spoke highly of John Turton and pointed out that he had not worked in any other mine except the Wood Pit. It emerged that the Inspector had not visited the pit for a long time and the proceedings against Turton were dropped and his manager’s certificate reinstated.

 

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1878. Mr. Henry Hall.
St. Helens Standard.
Wigan Observer.
TheWigan Examiner.
Weep Mothers Weep. Ian Winstanley. Picks Publishing.
Colliery Guardian, 14th June 1878, p.956, 21st June 1878, 996, 28th June 1878, p.1037, 5th July 1878, p.23, 12th July 1878, p.63, 19th July 1878, p.94, 26th July 1878, p.133, 4th October, p.553.

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

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