SHERIFF HILL. Gateshead, Durham. 11th. December 1815.
The brattice at the foot of the shaft caught fire and although every effort was made to get the men and horses out of the pit, five wastemen lost their lives through the interruption of the ventilation by the smoke. All the men and boys got out of the pit but the bodies of the men took some time to recover. They left four widows and seventeen children.
REFERENCES
A History of Coal Mining in Great Britain. Galloway, p. 161.
Sketches of the Collieries of Northumberland and Durham. T.H. Hair.
Newcastle Courant.
Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.
Return to previous page