Durham Mining Museum - Newspaper Articles (original) (raw)

Annual Register for 1869

Article from the Annual Register for 1869, 1st April 1869, Page: 32, Column: 1

Dreadful Colliery Explosion at Wigan

Another dreadful colliery catastrophe, causing the death of thirty-three persons, occurred in the South Lancashire district — an explosion of gas in the fiery Arley Mine, the seam in which so many fatalities have recently happened. At seven o'clock a.m. the usual indications on the pit bank showed that the Highbrooks Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Mercer and Evans, and situated in Park-lane, Ashton-in-Mackerfield, a short distance from the boundary of the borough, of Wigan, had "fired," and the news spread with startling rapidity, even for a colliery explosion, throughout the district, so that the pit bank was quickly crowded with the friends and relatives of the men who were employed at the pit. Seventy men worked at the pit; about one-half of these were brought to bank uninjured ; some fifteen others were recovered, fearfully burnt or suffering from the effects of the choke-damp, and the remaining twenty were immured in the workings, where a slowly-advancing exploring party discovered their bodies one by one.

A more unfortunate colliery than the Highbrooks does not exist in the neighbourhood. It stands about a mile from the high-road from Ashton to Wigan, at the top of a single line of railway that runs from the central offices. It was here, in 1865, that over a hundred colliers were imprisoned several days by the breakage of the machinery; and here also, in 1866, an explosion occurred by which thirty persons lost their lives. The Highbrooks Colliery consists of two shafts, an upcast and a downcast, both originally sunk to work the Orrell five-feet seam, which is found in the upcast at a distance of 280 yards from the surface, in the downcast, however, it was found that a fault occurred, which had the effect of throwing the Orrell four-feet, or Arley Mine, which should lie sixty yards below the five-feet, to a point sixty yards above it, or at least 120 feet out of its ordinary position. The winning of this four-feet seam had been a matter of no ordinary difficulty, for, as the work progressed, fault after fault obstructed the progress of the work. The seam, too, so notably a gaseous one, had to be got with the greatest caution, and every means had been adopted which could be suggested to secure the safety of the workmen. All the lamps were locked and examined by the fireman, no collier was allowed to fire a shot unless the fireman had first examined his place and given him permission, and care was taken to secure the services of the most competent men, and underlookers, and their assistants.

The fireman, Richard Gortley, in the morning made his customary examination of the four-feet seam, commencing his examination at four o'clock, and afterwards returning to the piteye to lock the lamps of the colliers when they descended the shaft to their work. Several shots were made ready for firing on the previous evening, and Gortley was asked to superintend the ignition of these as soon as possible. He went to consult with a brother fireman on the pit-bank, and then descended again as soon as possible. He left the pit-eye and proceeded to the southerly part of the workings, for the purpose of examining the places in order to give the necessary sanction to the firing. Immediately after this the explosion occurred, to which Gortleyhimself fell a victim. The force of the blast was not felt at any great distance; but in the immediate neighbourhood of the southerly workings the stoppings were blown down, and much of the roof was loosened.

Late on the following afternoon the inspection of the mine byMr. Higson, Mr. Mercer, one of the proprietors, and other gentlemen, was completed. It was ascertained with some degree of certainty that there had been a "fast" or "blown out" shot in the place where a man named Leyland was working ; but as this was in a down-brow, it was a spot in which gas was not likely to lurk. No fire-damp was found in the course of the examination, although the usual quantity of air sent into the workings was diminished by nearly one-half, owing to the leakage, from the large quantity of brattice which had to be put up, in order that the searching party might carry the air along with them. Men were at work at the time of the explosion in every "place" in the district, so there was no spot where gas was likely to accumulate.