Article from the Gateshead Observer, 7^th March 1863

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Dreadful Catastrophe at Coxlodge Colliery

Nineteen Lives Lost

Yesterday (Friday) morning one of those terrible accidents, which are unhappily of frequent occurrence in this district took place at Coxlodge Colliery, the property of Mr. Joshua Bower, placing in jeopardy 24 lives, and bringing to a sudden death 19 of that number. It appears that the men work in shifts of about 12 in number, and that there were two of these working about a quarter of a mile apart, at places called respectively the Cross Cut and the Jubilee. The rest that were in the pit were trapper-boys, drivers, and others. The pit is about 96 fathoms deep and the place were the men were working would be about two miles from the shaft. The nature of the accident may be described somewhat as follows :— Near the Cross Cut, above mentioned, there is a goaf, and it is supposed that a fall of coal had taken place in it, and that gas had issued from it and come upon the men there, four of whom had candles, and the other nine had Davy lamps. This unexpected supply of gas would be ignited by the candles and cause an explosion. Be this as it may such an explosion did occur at this place, and it was soon enveloped in flames. Three men, named Edward Ramsay, Stonehouse, and Walton were burnt, but were got out, and are still living. Other two men died and the rest escaped. The fire confined itself in a narrow space and died out without doing much damage to the workings. As soon as the explosion was heard in other parts of the pit, the men made attempts to get to the shaft.

At the Jubilee, where about a dozen men were working, seven of them made their escape from the after damp, which was coming fast upon them, by knocking down a bratticing and getting into a return course, where there was pure air, whilst four were killed by the choke damp, viz. Rowell, Baker, Mole, and Nichol. Several boys, working as trappers and drivers, were killed from the same cause. The explosion made itself known between six and seven o’clock, and very soon after that the pit had regained its wonted amount of air, and the men were able to go about in quest of their less fortunate comrades who had fallen a prey to the after damp. Between nine and ten o’clock the dead bodies were brought to bank and attended to by Dr. Thornhill and Dr. Scott, surgeons to the colliery. The names of the persons who are dead, so far was we can ascertain at present are :—

Robert Bell, married man, has left a family ; and his son Michael, living in Fawdon square.

Thomas Baker, Cawsey End, left a wife and two children.

David Mole, Cawsey End, wife and two children.

Thomas Nichol, Cawsey End, unmarried.

Robert Rowell, Cawsey End, unmarried.

— Walton, putter, Fawdon-square.

Robert Maughan, Coxlodge, a boy, driver, who lost his father about nine years ago, in the same pit when firing a shot.

Thomas Patterson, putter, Coxlodge, single.

Samuel Balmbra, 18 years of age.

William Harrison, boy, driver, Cawsey End.

— Haun, a boy, son of one of the deputies, Fawdon square.

Matthew Short, driver, Coxlodge.

Robert Waugh, trapper, Fawdon square.

William Renwick, boy, both his legs broken, was brought out alive, but afterwards expired.