Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	24th October 1838
Colliery:	Harrington, John Pit
Cause:	Explosion
Lives Lost:	40

Dreadful Coal Pit Explosion — Forty Lives Lost

(From the Whitehaven Herald of Saturday)

It devolves upon us this day, as public journalists, to place on record one of the most terrible calamities which ever occurred in this neighbourhood.

On Wednesday morning last intelligence was brought into Whitehaven that a tremendous explosion of carburetted hydrogen gas had taken place in one of the coal pits belonging to Mr. H. Curwen of Workington Hall situate at Lowca, in the parish of Harrington, between three and four miles from this town. On hastening to the spot we found that the report was too true, and that a tremendous sacrifice of human life had been the consequence. The pit at which this awful catastrophe occurred is called "John Pit," and is situate on the left-hand side of the road which leads from Whitehaven to Harrington by way of Lowca. Around the mouth of this pit on Wednesday we found considerable numbers of people collected, many sorrowing for lost friends and relatives, and others attracted by motives of curiosity. In the roads and fields adjoining numerous groups were also gathered together, and in each countenance the deepest grief and the most haggard anxiety were painfully depicted ; but at that time no one was able to give any correct information either as to the manner in which the explosion originated, or of the number of persons who had perished. subsequently we ascertained the following particulars on the spot:—

The John Pit has been for some time back the source from whence Mr. Curwen has drawn the principal part of his coals shipped at the port of Harrington. Nearly one hundred men and boys were employed in it ; and its superintendence devolved upon Mr. Tate, of Moorhouse, Mr. Curwen's coal steward at Harrington. The overman and deputy overman engaged under him to look after this pit were Harrison Kay and William Hetherington. The colliers left the pit on Tuesday evening before dusk, and those who have unfortunately perished returned on the following morning soon after 5 o'clock, at which time the awful and astounding catastrophe took place. The regulation adopted in John Pit, we understand, was for the work-people to wait about 200 yards from the bottom of the shaft, at what is called "the steer," until the overman and deputy overman had gone into the workings and seen that all was free from danger. At this spot 34 human beings were congregated when the foul air took fire, and they were swept with six others, to instant destruction. An explosion so tremendous and terrible in its character, perhaps, scarcely ever occurred before — certainly never in this part of the country. The shaft is 95 fathoms in depth, and yet for many yards above its mouth the fire was seen to blaze with awful brilliancy. Baskets from the bottom were whirled up the shaft high into the air, and thrown to a considerable distance. At the moment the explosion happened a basket, containing two men and two boys, had descended the shaft about six fathoms, these were blown into the air as from the mouth of a cannon ; one man was driven over the bank of coals at the pit's mouth, one boy fell close to the mouth, the other boy alighted in a state of insensibility on a sloping ledge, with his feet hanging over the yawning chasm beneath, and was thus found after the shock of the explosion, and removed in safety. On being laid hold of in five or six minutes after he had alighted on his perilous seat, he awoke from a sort of stupor and begged to be taken from where he was, as he felt cold, and said that he thought that he had been there for about two hours. This boys name is Nutter, and he lives at Parton, he, and the man and boy just spoken of, have recovered, and are now well again. The fourth individual who was in the basket was less fortunate ; he, alas, after being blown into the air fell perpendicularly into the shaft, and was dashed to pieces at the bottom. This was the first sufferer got out of the pit ; and towards evening the bodies of William Addison and Robert Nichol were brought up, they being the last of those who went down in the morning.

The bodies of 34 of the sufferers were found nearly all together on the northern side of "the steer," in one frightful mass, horribly blended with corves, rolleys and various kinds of rubbish. Many of them were sadly disfigured and mutilated ; their faces were blackened, the skin torn from different parts of their bodies, limbs mangled, and their hair almost invariably singed or shrivelled up into a dirty yellowish coloured matted substance. One poor boy had a stake driven through his body ; in others the eyeballs were nearly forced from their sockets. These 34 unhappy beings were all, no doubt, destroyed by the agency of the fiery torrent which swept along the main workings with inconceivable fury and force. One little boy was found lying on his face beside his horse in its stable ; he was not burnt or disfigured, and had died of suffocation from the choke-damp. The bodies of the overman and deputy overman were not obtained until last night ; that of Kay being far in the drift to the south, and Hetherington in the drift to the north. This leads us to the probable immediate cause of the accident.

The shaft of John Pit as we have stated, is 95 fathoms in depth. From the bottom of the shaft a rolley way of 200 yards in length conducts to the steer ; here a drift 300 yards in length branches off to the south, and another to the north of about 200 yards in length. These main drifts and the workings which branched from them it was the duty, we repeat, of the overman and deputy overman to examine every morning, and ascertain that the pit was free from foul air and danger. The body of the overman Harrison Kay was found as stated, in the south drift, and that of William Hetherington in the north drift. Now, as the force of the explosion drove the poor men and boys who were at "the steer" into the north arm of the workings, it follows as a reasonable inference that the torrent rushed from the south drift, where an immense quantity of carburetted hydrogen must have accumulated and been ignited. From a light carried by Harrison Kay, therefore, it is probable that the explosion arose, and this presumption is strengthened by a statement of some of the workmen employed at John Pit, who had providentially not arrived on Wednesday morning when the catastrophe took place. They state that Kay was in the habit of taking a lighted candle along the drift or main passage, and used his Davy lamp only in examining the workings. Taking it for granted that foul air had accumulated in the south drift, the explosion is at once traceable to the rash imprudence of the overman.

John Pit had until very lately been ventilated by Hodgson Pit, as the upcast shaft ; but latterly the ventilation was carried out by a new air-course into Jane Pit ; and it is supposed that owing to a fall from the roof, the new air course had been choked up, and hence the accumulation of foul air which led to the present awful and melancholy loss of life. Indeed, this interruption to the circulation may fully account for the accumulation of the inflammable air, which, when intermixed with atmospheric air in certain proportions, explodes, on the application of a naked flame, with the violence of gunpowder, the whole atmosphere becoming a volume of flame, sweeping all before it. But, of course, more information will be thrown on this part of the subject before the coroner’s jury.

Six horses were also killed by the explosion.

The following are the names and ages of the unfortunate sufferers, whose bodies had all been recovered at 6 o'clock yesterday evening, with the exception of that of William Hetherington :— Thomas Addison, Distington, single man, about 24 years of age ; William Addison, Distington (cousin of Thomas), about 14 years of age ; Eldred Burnett, Harrington Harbour, about 18 years of age ; Joseph Cape, Distington, aged 52, wife, but no children ; George Crellan, Distington, 12 or 14 years old ; Robert Dunn, Distington, a lad about the same age ; John Dunn (brother of Robert) also a boy ; George Edgar, Harrington, about 17 years old ; Joseph Griminson, Distington, single man, about 22 ; Harrison Kay, Distington, 24, wife and two children ; Joseph Metcalfe, Harrington, aged about 25, wife, but no children ; Robert Nichol, Lowca, aged 41, wife and one child ; John Richardson, Pica Houses, aged 22, wife and two children ; John Relph, Harrington, aged 20, single ; Robert Wynn, Distington, about 25, wife and three children ; John Wynn (Robert’s brother), single man, aged 21 ; James Wynn (another brother), a lad about 16 ; John Wilson, Pica Houses, aged 30, left a widow and three children ; James Wilson (John's brother), Pica Houses, about 35, left a widow and five children ; Jonathan Wilson (son of James), a lad about 12 ; Henry Peel, Pica Houses, aged 50, left a wife and child ; Robert Peel (son of Henry), about 11 years old ; Harrison Peel (another son of Henry), a lad about 13 ; John Kelly, Distington, a boy about 12 ; John Benson 12, Jonathan Benson about 14, and Fletcher Benson, 15, brothers all of Workington, father dead — mother living, father killed in a pit at Workington. Jonathan and Nicholas Hayton, 12 to 14, they lived at Workington, and have left a widowed mother, their brother drowned in Workington Pit. Ralph Sanderson, Ferry-house, boy aged 11 ; William Hetherington, Fox-House, near the pit, about 33, left a widow and three children. Richard Donald and —— Donald, cousins, of Frostons, near Workington, from 12 to 16. John Ditchburn, Harrington, boy aged 12 ; James Moore and William Moore, brothers, from Workington, lads from 10 to 12 ; Richard Scruggam, boy from Workington, 10 or 12. Robert Iredale, boy from Workington, ditto. Peter Dobson, Harrington, about 30, widow and family. Henry Ward, Workington, 25, left widow and four children.

It is needless here to dwell on the pain and sorrow and inscribable suffering which this sad catastrophe has carried to the hearths of many humble but hitherto contented families : these will be more easily imagined than described ; and let us trust that what sympathising public can effect in soothing the grief which has been spread around will neither be wanting nor long delayed.

The loss of property to Mr. Curwen will be heavy, but the mental suffering which this second great calamity in his mines within 14 months will have inflicted throws all pecuniary considerations into the shade. His distress of mind, we are told is most intense.

It is but justice to add, that throughout the trying emergencies of the week, the agents and friends of Mr. Curwen have received from Mr. Peile and other agents of the Earl of Lonsdale the most prompt assistance.

Mr. W. Bragg, coroner, and a respectable jury, viewed the bodies of the deceased yesterday afternoon. About 5 they assembled at the house of Mr. Carr, innkeeper, Harrington, and, after some unimportant business, adjourned the hearing of evidence until this day (Saturday)

Source:

The Times Newspaper

	Addison, Thomas, aged 24, of Distington, single man (cousin of William)
	Addison, William, aged 14, of Distington (cousin of Thomas)
	Benson, Fletcher, aged 15, brother of John and Jonathan, mother living, father killed in a pit at Workington
	Benson, John, aged 12, brother of Fletcher and Jonathan, mother living, father killed in a pit at Workington
	Benson, Jonathan, aged 14, brother of Fletcher and John, mother living, father killed in a pit at Workington
	Burnett, Eldred, aged 13, of Harrington Harbour
	Cape, Joseph, aged 52, of Distington, left a wife, but no children
	Crellan, George, aged 12, of Distington
	Ditchburn, John, aged 12, of Harrington
	Dobson, Peter, aged 30, of Harrington, left a wife and family
	Donald, -, aged 16, of Frostons, near Workington
	Donald, Robert, aged 12, of Frostons, near Workington
	Dunn, John, aged boy, of Distington, brother of Robert
	Dunn, Robert, aged 12, of Distington, brother of John
	Edgar, George, aged 17, of Harrington
	Griminson, Joseph, aged 22, of Distington, single man
	Hayton, Jonathan, aged 12, brother of Nicholas, of Workington, and have left a widowed mother, their brother drowned in Workington Pit
	Hayton, Nicholas, aged 14, brother of Jonathan, of Workington, and have left a widowed mother, their brother drowned in Workington Pit
	Hetherington, William, aged 33, of Fox-House, near the pit, left a wife and three children
	Irsdale, Robert, aged 10, of Workington
	Kay, Harrison, aged 24, of Distington, left a wife and two children
	Kelly, John, aged 12, of Distington
	Metcalfe, Joseph, aged 25, of Harrington, left a wife, but no children
	Moore, James, aged 10, of Workington, brother of William
	Moore, William, aged 12, of Workington, brother of James
	Nichol, Robert, aged 41, of Lowca, left a wife and one child
	Peel, Harrison, aged 13, son of Henry, brother of Robert
	Peel, Henry, aged 50, of Pica Houses, left a wife and child, father of Harrison and Robert
	Peel, Robert, aged 11, son of Henry, brother of Harrison
	Ralph, John, aged 20, of Harrington, single man
	Richardson, John, aged 22, of Pica Houses, left a wife and two children
	Sanderson, Ralph, aged 11, of Ferry-house
	Scruggam, Richard, aged 10, of Workington
	Ward, Henry, aged 25, of Workington, left a wife and four children
	Wilson, James, aged 35, of Pica Houses, left a wife and five children, father of Jonathan, brother of John
	Wilson, John, aged 30, of Pica Houses, left a wife and three children, brother of James
	Wilson, Jonathan, aged 12, son of James
	Wynn, James, aged 16, brother of John and Robert
	Wynn, John, aged 21, brother of James and Robert
	Wynn, Robert, aged 25, of Distington, left a wife and three children, brother of James and John
	All names found
	Youngest: 10 years old ; Oldest: 52 ; Average: 20

31 Oct 1838	Dreadful Coal Pit Explosion — Forty Lives Lost (The Times)
03 Nov 1838	The Late Coal-Pit Explosion (The Times)

 

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