SPRINGWELL. “B” Pit. Gateshead, Northumberland. 9th. May, 1833.

The explosion occurred in the “B” Pit which was owned by Lord Ravensworth and Partners. The pit was worked with open lights but on the morning of the disaster, a blower was opened by one of the workmen and the overman ordered the workmen to use safety lamps.

The explosion occurred on the Hutton Seam at 720 fathoms and killed forty-seven, ten men and thirteen boys and injured another of others. Nine of the victim’s bodies were not recovered until 27th July when they were reported: “to have been reduced to skeletons.”

At the inquest into the death of James Oliver, one of the deceased, William Stokoe, on overman at the pit said he went down the pit on Thursday morning at two o’clock and visited all the workings in the course of the day and found the pit in a very good state. He continued:

A man, while at work in the south-east way, pricked a blower which emitted inflammable air. It shot out on the man and he was removed from the place. George Oliver, the father of the deceased, was set to watch and observe if it grew worse. He is still in the mine and supposed to be dead. The men at the time were working with candles owing to the supposed safety of the pit. Mr. Dodds, the under-viewer accompanied by me went to examine the blower but we did not consider it of consequence. Safety lamps were however sent for to be used by the workmen in the adding part of the mine.

John Liddell, a pitman said that the pit was in good order on the Thursday morning and it was good when he left about one o’clock. The explosion occurred about two o’clock and he went down again about six in the evening and found all in confusion. He found three bodies.

The coroner remarked that a garbled account of the disaster had been printed and hawked in Newcastle which charged an unfortunate stranger who was said to be a Welshman, as the cause of the calamity by taking off the top of his lamp.

Thomas Turner, from Staffordshire, was then called and he stated that he was at work in the pit but he had not taken the top off his lamp and he would never ever do such a thing. He was aware of the reports but he said they were completely unfounded.

The coroner returned a verdict of “Accidental Death”. Every effort was made to recover those bodies till in the pit and nearly fifty bodies were brought up but when a second explosion threatened. Operations were suspended when there were supposed to be seven bodies still down.

 

REFERENCES
Report from the Select Committee on Accidents in Mines. 4th September 1835.
Report of the South Shields Committee.
Latimers’s Local Records. p.10.
Annals of Coal Mining. Galloway, Vol.1, p.499.
Newcastle Courant.

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

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