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80:(shaft bottom). The miners in other areas of the pit were wound to the surface. One man working at the seat of the explosion, John Woolley a "dataller", (day wage man) survived and, though burned, managed to get to the bottom of the shaft. When the alarm was raised, the pit manager W. Horrobin, underlooker James Calland and the mine owner's son, Harry Speakman led a rescue party to investigate but were impeded by the presence of
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turned blue indicating explosive gas. Instead of reporting it, work continued. A few minutes later the flame in the lamp of a nearby miner "fired". Established procedure was "lowering his lamp to the floor and taking it steadily into the fresh air, avoiding jerks". Instead the miner shook it and
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was not heard until 23 September 1886 so that John
Woolley, who had survived the explosion, could give evidence. The coalface where the explosion occurred was being worked on the retreating principle. Headings had been driven into the coal and a working face established between them. As the coal
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News of the explosion travelled quickly, by 11 a.m. a crowd of women had arrived at the pit and in the evening a crowd estimated to be between eight and ten thousand had gathered at the pit head. The burned and mutilated bodies were wrapped in tarpaulins and taken to the wheelwrights shop and the
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caused by an explosion of firedamp. The coroner commented that the fireman should spend more time examining the workings before the men went down the pit and that greater care should be taken examining the lamps. It was regretted that the gas was not reported by the prop-takers.
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behind it. Pit props were progressively removed and the roof was allowed to subside into the goaf a short distance behind the working face. Woolley was removing pit props when the fracturing roof released firedamp. The flame in
Woolley's
84:. According to Calland the afterdamp was "very strong and makes the men very dizzy. When they have this feeling they have to come up quickly to the fresh air". The Mines Inspector, Joseph Dickinson of Pendleton was contacted by telegraph.
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whose officials attended at the colliery. A committee of local dignitaries was formed to raise monies for the "Relief of Widows, orphans and others placed in distress by the explosion" and an appeal advertised in
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joiners shop was used as a mortuary. The youngest victim was 15 years old and the oldest 65. The average age of those who died was 32 and 48 children were left fatherless. Some families lost more than one member.
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On the day of the disaster 159 men and boys were underground working a shift that started at 6.00 a.m. and would have ended mid afternoon. The disaster took place at about 10.45a.m. in the
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went underground but considered there would be no survivors. The underground fires were eventually extinguished and bodies brought to the surface.
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which had bonnets fitted. The effect of the bonnet was to protect the gauze from draughts and reduce the risk of the flame passing through.
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attempted to blow it out at which point the flame passed through the gauze and caused the explosion.
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64:. The colliery, sunk in 1884 and known to be a "fiery pit", was owned by John Speakman.
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teams but assistance arrived from nearby collieries and an exploring party of men from
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Subsequently, the colliery owners bought 150 Masault lamps and 50 improved
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was worked back along the headings, waste material accumulated in the
230:, The Coalmining History Research Centre, p. 1, archived from
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267:, Wigan Culture and Leisure Trust, pp. 13–15, archived from
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Bedford. Wood End Pits. Leigh, Lancashire. 13th. August, 1886.
76:(seam) at a depth of about 530 yards and 700 yards from the
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Lancashire and
Cheshire Miners' Permanent Relief Society
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occurred on Friday 13 August 1886 when an explosion of
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399:History of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
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297:, Durham Mining Museum, archived from
179:List of mining disasters in Lancashire
158:The verdict of the coroner's jury was
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185:Glossary of coal mining terminology
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48:caused the death of 38 miners at
379:Coal mining disasters in England
115:The colliery subscribed to the
97:Astley and Tyldesley Collieries
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384:Underground mines in England
322:Photographs of Wood End Pit
101:Wigan Coal and Iron Company
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394:Leigh, Greater Manchester
42:Bedford Colliery disaster
36:Bedford Colliery monument
27:1886 coal mining disaster
18:Bedford Colliery Disaster
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389:1886 mining disasters
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374:Mining in Lancashire
404:1880s in Lancashire
341: /
274:on 22 December 2010
93:Bickershaw Colliery
301:on 3 December 2008
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60:in what then was
16:(Redirected from
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345:53.504°N 2.497°W
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294:Disasters, Names
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160:accidental death
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74:Crombouke mine
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52:No.2 Pit, at
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299:the original
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269:the original
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232:the original
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168:Clanny lamps
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89:mines rescue
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278:17 December
124:newspaper.
363:Categories
333:53°30′14″N
305:2010-12-17
261:Times Past
241:2010-12-17
191:References
62:Lancashire
336:2°29′49″W
196:Citations
152:Davy lamp
122:The Times
107:Aftermath
82:afterdamp
68:Explosion
174:See also
99:and the
46:firedamp
138:inquest
134:coroner
128:Inquest
78:pit-eye
54:Bedford
50:Bedford
272:(PDF)
265:(PDF)
235:(PDF)
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58:Leigh
280:2010
143:goaf
132:The
40:The
147:gob
145:or
136:'s
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249:^
204:^
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20:)
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