HOMER HILL. Stourbridge, Worcestershire. 12th. November, 1867.

Homer Hill Colliery was the property of Messrs. Samuel Evers and Sons and was opened by a pair of seven feet shafts with a sectional area of 44 square feet, The Thick of Ten yard Coal in which the accident occurred was reached by these shafts at a depth of 150 yards. From the shafts two parallel gate roads with large sectional areas, about 50 yards apart were driven to the colliery boundary, a distance of almost 500 yards. At this point the entire thickness of the seam had been cut through.

The volume of air passing through the pit was about 10,000 cubic feet per minute. A small part of this was used to ventilate the top part of the seam in which workings were very limited and the main proportion travelled along the No.2 gate road to the north workings where, at the time of the explosions, it was distributed to ventilate the lower workings in the Nine feet Seam and returned among the No.1 or twin-road to the upcast shaft. The quantity of air was not large but appeared to be enough to sweep the gas from the workings. The only artificial means of ventilation was a small fire grate in the upcast shaft about 40 yards from the surface. The effect of this was to keep the ventilation in one direction and there was no provision made in the ventilation for any emergencies that may have arisen.

The men who died were:

  • J. Edwards, pikeman.
  • F. Barrell, bandsman and
  • J. Heathcock, died on the 13th,
  • H. Westwood and
  • W. Harden both bandsman, and
  • E. Barnbrook, pikeman, died on the 14th.
  • S. Guest, bandsman, died on the 18th and
  • W. Battleton, bandsman who died on the same day and
  • D. Hart and J. Griffiths, both bandsman who died on the 19th.
  • W. Gordon, bandsman, died on the 23rd.
  • j. Poulton, bandsman, died on the 26th.

Mr. Baker gave an account of the workings after the explosion. He said:

In the company of officers of the colliery, I travelled the northern or No.2 gate road until we arrived at the point up to which the ventilation had been restored and was about 260 yards from the shaft. We then pushed on for 200 yards and we reached the back opening or stall in which the fall of roof had occurred, which according to the information I was given, had taken place on the morning of the explosion. The opening then contained a large quantity of explosive gas evidently issuing from a fissured and very soft part of the coal seam from which the gas that caused the explosion had undoubtedly issued. Nearly all the doors on the cross headings were deranged and others broke and the ventilation destroyed but little or no other damage seemed to have been done in the other workings or machinery, except to the cage and the wire rope. These had been driven by the force of the blast some 70 to 80 yards up the upcast shaft.

It was fortunate that the workmen were sheltered from the fearful blast by one of the long pillars, otherwise no person in that part of the mine would have been alive to tell the tale. We were told that a loaded skip, the horse and driver, some distance along the No.1 road, killing the horse and so seriously injuring the driver that he died in a day or two after the occurrence. the contents of the skip were scattered in all directions and another skip in No.2 road, standing 400 yards from the scene of the explosion, was forced off the rails.

The evidence at the inquests showed that there had been a very heavy fall amounting to about to between two and three hundred tons, which was followed immediately by the explosion. The deputy, Edward Foley, who examined the workings before the explosion stated that he had examined the stall but he could reach only 25 feet, which was five or six feet short of the roof and it was possible that there was a large quantity of gas lodge in the roof.

Mr. Baker commented:

The exclusive use of lamps under such circumstances will undoubtedly prevent most, if not all, explosions of this character and it would be well, in the event of any alteration of the existing law, to make provision to enforce so desirable precaution.

 

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1867. Mr. Baker.

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

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