ASTLEY DEEP PIT. Dukinfield, Cheshire. 14th April. 1874.

The proprietor of the colliery was Mr. Benjamin Ashton with Mr. James Hilton as the manager. The downcast shaft was 686 yards deep and the workings extended about a mile and a third to the south of the shaft and about 1,300 yards to the north. Mr. Hilton had been manager at the pit from 1st. October 1871 and had succeeded Mr. Walshaw. He had served his apprenticeship under Mr. Hewlett in the Ince Hall Collieries, Wigan and later in the Earl of Balcarres mines and those of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company, Limited. After his apprenticeship expired he had stayed with Mr. Hewlett a further five years as his paid assistant and in 1870 was the only mining student in the country to receive a mining medal. He had two years experience when he took up his post, and went to work at the Astley Pit for more money. He had called a meeting of the underlookers soon after he was appointed and asked them to give him an account of the mine. At that meeting, none of them told him about the Half Moon Tunnel. On his own inspections he found the ventilation of the mine deficient and took steps to remedy this.

On the day of the disaster the night shift numbering 150 to 170 men and boys went down the pit and there were already datallers working there. At 7.30 p.m. the explosion occurred. Forty-nine lost their lives in the initial explosion and one man, Charles Jones, lost his life in the following rescue attempts.

At the time of the disaster, four men were repairing the roof of the Half Moon Tunnel which was built in 1859 and by about 1869 required some repairs when crevices had been discovered. When this was being repaired a fire broke out which raged for several weeks and burnt the roof of the Tunnel, extended into the Little Mine which was above and into the Smithy Mine. When the fire was brought under control it was thought necessary to drive a mouthing from the downcast shaft to the Smithy Mine. This was done and the cavity that had been made by the fire was found. A timbered roof was constructed and the cavity filled with earth. The mouthing was left open but there were witnesses at the inquiry who stated that it was filled in later, in Mr. Walshaw’s time as manager of the colliery. At the time of the accident, Mr. Hilton was the manager and he knew nothing of these events until there was a fall of earth from the cavity in 1872.

George Harrison, of Astley Street, Dukinfield, was the hooker-on at the colliery and on the day of the explosion descended the pit at 4 a.m. He went into the Half Moon Tunnel to help four men, John Carr, John Swindles, Hartshorn and Timothy O’Neil in propping the caps and couplings from the roof which was in a dangerous state. He called to Swindles to bring a prop for a particularly dangerous part and while he was waiting there was a heavy fall of earth followed by an explosion. Harrison was blown six or eight yards towards the shaft, picked himself up and began to walk to the shaft. On the way he found Henry Fielding, a youth, lying unconscious in the roadway who he carried with him. Fielding recovered consciousness and Harrison returned for Joseph Fletcher aged 13 years, who was lying about a dozen yards from the shaft, crying for help. He rang for the cage to come down and Harrison, Fletcher and Fielding went up to report what had happened.

Harrison returned down the pit with the two underlookers, David Holmes and Abraham Else and others. Holmes and his companions went round the dumb drift to explore the workings and Harrison rang the bell to get the men out of the 1,600 yards level and a number of men came out and went to the surface. Harrison remained down the pit until 5 a.m. the following morning and by that time no bodies had been recovered.

David Holmes, an underlooker at the pit found the tunnel blocked with earth and tried to get to the furnace but it was too hot. He went with others round the dumb drift and got into the engine plane on the other side of the fall and found the doors to the boiler house in the engine brow were on fire. The fire was immediately put out with water from the boiler. After this Hartshorn was found lying dead near the top of the engine brow with O’Neill lying about a yard from him and Carr about seven or eight yards further on. Carr and O’Neill were alive when they were found and as they were being attended to, some men came down the engine brow and reported that the first air crossing down the brow had been blown down. This was replaced within half an hour and Holmes and several others went to the No.2 hooking place where they found the bodies of two men, John Downes and Nelson Harrison and two boys, Edward Oliver and John Jackson.

This party then went along the No.2 tunnel where they found a fall of earth from the roof. Joseph Gee was the first to get over this fall and on the other side he found seven men and three boys all alive but a boy named Hyde was found nearby, dead. The search was continued down the brow and in the dip tunnel they found two men, James Bradshaw and Edward Davies. They then went to the No.3 hooking place and found nine or ten bodies. The party then went in the direction of the shaft. Holmes remained down the pit until 8 a.m. the following day supervising the recovery of the bodies.

The Inspectors Report names 53 who are listed below but says that 49 men lost their lives in the explosion and one rescue worker in the rescue attempts but goes on to say that four died in Lancashire and were the subject of another inquest. This will give a total of 54 killed in the explosion but there is one name missing from this list.

Those 54 who lost their lives were:

  • LINDLEY George 10
  • OLIVER Edwin 12 of Pickford Lane, Dukinfield
  • DUGDALE Robert 15 of Birch Lane
  • HITCHEN John 16 of Pickford Lane
  • HARRISON Nelson 51 of Pleasant Street
  • HARTSHORN William 20 of Astley Street, Dukinfield.
  • DAVIS Edwin a young man of Portland Street, Ashton
  • WARDEL Samuel 30 of Furness Street, Dukinfield
  • LINDLEY George 17 of Astley Street, Woodends, Dukinfield
  • CONNLEY Michael 28 of Whittaker’s Court, Zetland Street, Dukinfield.
  • ROBERTS John 44 of Peel Court, Dukinfield.
  • FLETCHER Richard 26 of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • GARSIDE or GARTSIDE John 19 Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • BRADSHAW James 40 of Birch Lane, Dukinfield.
  • HALLAM James 37 of Gaskell Street, Dukinfield
  • STATHAM John 36 of Park Street, Dukinfield
  • GARSIDE or GARTSIDE Josiah. Father of John, of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • KEAN or KINE Thomas John 20 of Wharf Street, Dukinfield
  • HIBBERT Walter 21 of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • BICKERDYKE Alfred of Newton Wood, Dukinfield
  • WILLIAMS Benjamin 29 of Crescent Road, Dukinfield.
  • KNOTT William Henry 15 of Hadfield’s Court, Old Street, Dukinfield
  • MERRICK James 35 of Highfield Street, Dukinfeld
  • KEAN or KINE 45, father of Thomas John of Wharf Street, Dukinfield
  • REYNOLDS James 24 of Crescent Road, Dukinfield
  • TAYLOR Law 30 of Wharf Street, Dukinfield
  • LAWTON William A 15 of Gaskell Street, Dukinfield
  • LEYLAND John 52 of Flowery Field, Hyde
  • STOCKLEDGE or SHOCKLEDGE John 24 of Oxford Road, Dukinfield
  • BICKERDYKE Joseph 25 of Newton Street, Dukinfield
  • DAVIS Samuel J 20 of Warf Street, Dukinfield
  • CHADWICK William A boy of Wood Street, Ashton
  • CARTER James Married of George Street, Dukinfield
  • MORGAN John of St Mark Street, Dukinfield
  • WALKER Robert 46 of Leach Street, Dukinfield
  • DOWNS or DOWNPATRICK John 22 of Taylor Street, Dukinfield
  • WRIGHT George 40 of Church Street, Dukinfield
  • THOMAS Robert 25 Warf Street, Dukinfield
  • BEARD Henry 36 of Leach Street, Dukinfield
  • WELSBY James 28 of Highfield Street, Dukinfield
  • BROWN Thomas 45 of Zetland Street, Dukinfield
  • CARR John 46 of Meadowbank, Dukinfield. Died in infirmary.
  • SWINDELLS John 45 Died in infirmary
  • HYDE Ham
  • HIGGINBOTTOM Matthew
  • JACKSON John
  • DUGDALE Robert
  • CARTWRIGHT Aaron
  • HITCHEN John
  • HARRISON Nelson
  • BRICE Alfred
  • HADFIELD Thomas
  • HUDSON J.D.
  • JONES Charles
  • WATKINSON Henry
  • BAYLEY John
  • O’NEIL Timothy

Those injured:

  • BUTTERWORTH James (injured) of Hill Street, Dukinfield
  • BOWKER Albert (injured) 16 of Astley Street, Newton Wood
  • NORMANTON Joseph (injured) 15 of Oxford Road
  • DEAN George (injured) 16 of Park Street, Dukinfield
  • WALKER John (injured) of Leach Street, Dukinfield
  • KELLETT William (injured) of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • HITCHEN Thomas (injured) of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • LEE Matthew (injured) of Leach Street, Dukinfield
  • WOOD John Thomas (injured) of Parkside
  • HULME Allen (injured) of Oxford Road, Dukinfield
  • HULME Charles (injured) of Oxford Road, Dukinfield
  • HULME Charles (injured) of Astley Street, Dukinfield
  • CLAYTON Squire (injured) of Kay Street, Dukinfield

The inquiry into the disaster was held at the Astley Arms, Dukinfield by Mr. F.W. Johnson one of the coroners for Cheshire when Mr. Wynne and Mr. Bell, H.M. Inspectors attended. Mr. Horatio Lloyd, Recorder of Chester appeared as Counsel for the Crown and all interested parties were represented.

From the evidence, it appeared that the mouthing to the Smithy Mine had been filled in and the accident occurred because this was the only means of ventilation for the part of the mine where the explosion took place. In his summing up, the Coroner went on to say that:

All persons in authority in the pit, and had any knowledge of the bricking up of the mouthing, committed a fatal mistake. It might not have been intentional but it was a grave mistake of judgement, for, to quote the words of Mr. Higson, one of the scientific witnesses, “it was almost insane act to do so”.  It was said to have been done in the time of Mr. Walshaw, and he asked the jury to look at the case as it bore on Mr. Walshaw, David Holmes his underlooker, Abraham Else, also and underlooker, Mr. Hilton the present manager and Mr. Benjamin Ashton, the proprietor of the mine.

The evidence of Holmes, Dunevan and Charnock directly implicated Mr. Walshaw with the bricking up of the mouthing and other witnesses said that it was bricked up during the period of his management. He was the managing director of several large collieries near Rochdale and to judge from his appearance he was not a man to deceive them, he said most distinctly that the knew nothing, and that he never gave any instructions with respect to it and his evidence was borne out by Worthington, the underlooker, and another witness, Ray. The coroner asked the jury to test the credibility of Holmes who had contradicted himself several times on points of evidence. Holmes was a practical man and had allowed the mouthing to be bricked up without telling anyone. Mr. Hilton, the present manger of the mine, was not told by Holmes of the cavity and the first he knew of it was when there was a fall of earth in 1872.

The jury retired to consider their verdict and returned. Mr. A. Aspland, the foreman read the following verdict:

The decision of this jury is this, that the primary cause of the explosion at the Astley Deep Pit was the blocking of the mouthing to the Smithy mine. This was an act of gross ignorance or culpable negligence, and was affected during Mr. Walshaw’s management, and with the knowledge of David Holmes. There is no reliable evidence by whose orders this was done. That the secondary cause of the explosion or explosions was the unsafe condition of the Half Moon Tunnel owing to insufficient timbering. There is evidence that the Astley Deep Pit was from the retirement of Mr. Ray to the dismissal of Mr. Walshaw in a state of anarchy, owing to the interference of Mr. Benjamin Ashton and his consulting conflicting authorities in the mine. The jury considers there is distinct evidence as to the employment of incompetent persons and placing them in authority. That the evidence of the authorities in the pit has been given with great hesitation and with an evident desire to conceal important facts. This remark applies especially to the evidence of the underlookers, Holmes and Else. That the underlookers failed in their duty in concealing from Mr. Hilton, when he entered in the management of the mine, important facts, especially in reference to the fire of 1865 and when Mr. Hilton became acquainted with the fact of the fire and the cavity in 1872, in not giving a complete history in what had been done. That Mr. Hilton failed in his duty in not thoroughly investigating the condition of the Half Moon Tunnel and the manner in which the 1865 fire was dealt with. That Samuel Higginbottom was guilty of great indiscretion in failing to fill the cavity and in the blocking of the Smithy Mine. The jury desire to express their strong opinion that the present system of inspection is imperfect and requires a full inquiry with a view to an amendment. That the deaths of the 49 of the deceased resulted from an explosion of firedamp and that Charles Jones met his death from chokedamp in his generous efforts to save the lives of his fellow workmen.

The foreman explained that in no way was the jury casting blame on Mr. Wynne. Mr. Wynne publicly acknowledged the brave efforts of the men who went down the pit after the explosion. He had seen the efforts they made and the dangers they ran with cheerfulness and complied with everything that was asked of them. He mentioned Mr. Holt, Mr. Sixsmith and Mr. Radcliffe by name.

 

REFERENCES
Mines Inspector Report, 1873. Mr. Thomas Wynne.
Colliery Guardian, 24th April 1874, p.571, 1st May, p.606, 8th May, p.643, 15th May, p.683, 29th May, p. 751, 12th June, p.819, 26th June, p.893, 3rd July, p.19, 17th July, p.91, 31st July, p.168.

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

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