Felling mine disaster

Felling mine disaster was one of the first major Mining accidents or mine disasters in Britain, claiming 91 lives on 25 May 1812.

The colliery was situated in Felling, Tyne and Wear part of Gateshead in what used to be County Durham, and had two shafts about 600 feet deep. It was extended in 1810 by the opening up of a new coal seam, the Low Main seam, and it was here that the explosion which engulfed the pit occurred. As with so many other coal mine disasters, the accident was caused by ignition of firedamp (methane) which then triggered a coal dust explosion. The explosion traveled through the galleries, and ended by erupting from one of the shafts. At that time, lighting in the pits was hazardous. Open flame lamps could easily ignite the gas, so steel mills were often used to provide weak illumination from sparks, but these too could set off a gas explosion. The alternative was to deliberately destroy gas accumulations in a dangerous operation conducted by a "monk", actually a foolhardy miner shrouded in a wet blanket who poked a candle on a long pole into gas pockets. His life must have been short, but probably well paid when successful.

Safety lamp

File:Davy lamp.png

A Davy lamp, an early example of a safety lamp

The disaster became famous because it stimulated an unknown engineer, one George Stephenson, to design a safety lamp with air fed through narrow tubes, down which a flame could not move. It also led and an eminent scientist (Humphry Davy) to devise another safety lamp where the flame was surrounded by iron gauze. The gauze had to have small spaces so that a flame could not pass through, but could admit methane, which then burned harmlessly inside the lamp. The height of the luminous cone above the flame gave a measure of the methane concentration in the general atmosphere. The disaster is thus remembered for stimulating inventive minds to tackle the problem and save lives as well as maintain productivity and confidence in a growing industry.

Unfortunately, the lamps did not prevent further disasters because there were other sources of ignition, such as sparks from metal tools such as picks and shovels and later, electrical equipment and explosives used to blast tunnels. Moreover, both of the lamps could set off explosions if the gauze rusted through (very likely in the wet environment of a pit bottom), or the glass on the Geordie fractured which also happened. Later devices such as the Mueseler lamp were better protected, but all such lamps gave very poor illumination. It was one cause of nystagmus, a disorder of the eyes common among coal miners. It was not until electric safe lamps were introduced at the end of the Victorian period that miners had adequate and safe lights.

The Victims

Inscription on memorial states: "In Memory of the 91 Persons Killed in Felling Colliery 24 May 1812"

Surname	Forename	Age
Adams	Phillip	17
Allan	Jacob	14
Allan	Andrew	11
Anderson	Jos	23
Bainbridge	Tho	53
Bainbridge	Matt	19
Bainbridge	Tho	17
Bainbridge	Geo	10
Bears	Thomas	48
Bell	George	14
Bell	Edward	12
Boutland	John	46
Boutland	Will	19
Brown	Matt	28
Burnitt	John	21
Comby	James	28
Craigs	James	13
Craggs	Thomas	36
Craggs	Thomas	9
Cully	Chris	20
Cully	George	14
Dixon	William	35
Dixon	William	10
Dobson	John.A	13
Dobson	Robert	13
Dobson	-
Fletcher	Paul	22
Galley	Will	22
Galley	Greg	10
Gardiner	Mich	45
Gardiner	Will	10
Gordon	Robert	40
Gordon	Joseph	10
Gordon	Thomas	8
Greener	Isaac	65
Greener	Isaac	24
Greener	John	21
Hall	Ralph	18
Hall	Robert	15
Harrison	Ra	39
Harrison	Rob	14
Harrison	John	12
Haswell	Rob	42
Haswell	John	22
Haswell	Edw	20
Haswell	Ben	18
Hunter	Will	35
Hunter	John	21
Hunter	Mich	18
Hutchinson	Rob	11
Jacques	Will	23
Jacques	John	14
Kay	James	18
Kay	George	16
Knox	John	11
Lawton	Geo	14
Leck	Rob.C	16
Mason	Chris	54
Mitcheson	Geo	18
Pearson	John	64
Pearson	John	38
Pearson	Geo	26
Pearson	Edw	14
Pearson	Rob	10
Pringle	Matt	18
Pringle	Jos	16
Reay	George	9
Richardson	Edw	39
Richardson	Will	19
Richardson	Tho	17
Ridley	Thomas	13
Ridley	George	11
Robson	Thomas	18
Robson	George	15
Sanderson	Will	43
Sanderson	Matt	33
Surtees	John	12
Thompson	John	36
Thompson	Benj	17
Turnbull	Jere	43
Turnbull	John	27
Irwin	Nich	38
Wilkinson	John	33
Wilson	John	52
Wilson	John	50
Wilson	Jos	23
Wilson	Char	20
Wood	Joseph	39
Wood	John	27
Young	Joseph	30
Young	Thomas	34

Bibliography

• Helen and Baron Duckham, Great Pit Disasters: Great Britain 1700 to the present day, David & Charles (1973)

External links

• Durham Mining Museum - 1812 Felling Colliery Disaster Memorial at St. Mary's Churchyard, Heworth (OS Map 88, Grid Ref NZ286619)

See also

• Humphry Davy
• Mining accident
• George Stephenson