The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-06-23 00:00:00

TERRIBLE COLLIERY DISASTER.

170 LIVI34Li 34T.
terrible catastrophe moulting in a gnat low. .4
life, occurred on Thursday 'morning at the t Wage of
l'endlebury, about three mills. front Manchester. The
Wile of the accident is the Clifton Ilan Pit, 0n...4 a
aeritsi of collier's% owned mul worked by }leases.
Andrew Knowles and CO. (I.iiiiitssb. The pit hitherto
has had the best reputation. IS has 13,11 emisislensl
an aide ttttt and has been nso free (no
dangerous gases that in smite parts it luta 'Well lli
imormulgni thing for ii,, u, II tO 110 e naked lights. Ti.''
main shaft ig 510 yanlop deep, alai front it Wean is
gained to the three sUILIII/I—the Trenelierbone, which
is the lowest, the Doe, and the Five 9,/af len,. From
I /1111 .4 thew" again there is non ttttt titivation with the
.I.gecroft Colliery, about half a mile distant.
mor,h.tii• d
'f they 3111.1.:iiiirctintud114eitgq.1603,7.1 in thu zuitu. is
the pit between half-past live and six o'clock oil
Thursday 1111 l 111111 g. It is helleVed that about 160
men went to work in the Trencherbone mine, and
that the remaining lffil were divided between the pow
and the Five ()Innen.. Ti..' seam in the Trencher.
bone, it may lee inentionesl, is in quality and natur,.
like that known MS the •• Wigan-Nine•Foot " or
" Wigan•Six•Foot," which has a terrible notoriety
among miners. Work went .in as usual until shortly
before half-past nine in the morning, wiwn the
attendants at the mouth of the shaft wen• startled by
seeing a sheet of 'Lune and a cloud of ke and dust
shout up from the pit 13011t11, follownl immediately
by a loud explosion. The force of the concussion tore
. •of the surface plates (nom their place*, and hurled
part of the ironwork of the awes up the shaft and on
to the frame which protects the pulleys over-
head. Some parts of the w.ealwork aupport•
Mg the pulley. were also smashed. When the
disaster occurred the cages must have been paps.
ing each other in the centres"( the shaft, for upon an
attempt being made by thnie above to communicate
with the men below, it was found that the cages were
immovably locked. The manager of the colliery, Mr.
Jonathan Hall, and two of his men who were
gallantly attempting is descent, being foiled in this
direction, made ere of what is called a "kibble "—a
small cage, which is worked by a little pulley banging
between the two chief pulleys—and went down the pit
until stopped by the cages. Their united efforts were
insufficient to move the cages, so they returned to the
surface, only, however, shortly afterwards to re-enter
the shaft, armed with implements of various kinds,
with which, after some hard work, they oucceeded in
liberating the cagni, so that they mild travel with
ease up and down.
When this had been accomplished, an exploring
tarty of three—Aaron Manley (pitman), Trnon hot
Horsfield (banksman), and }Lindley (blacksmith)
—was funned, and went in the kibble to
the bottom of the pit, where they inspected the
ground within the area of a few yards only. The
scene that presented itself to them was indeed
a melancholy one, confirming their worst fears
as to the magnitude of the disaster. SOllle
fifty men and boys were lying about in various
mentions
fully injiirod, and all blackened and scorched alineet
beyond recognition. Leaving 'Lindley at the bottom,
Honofield awl Manley hastened to the top, and corn-
enuoicated to jr. Hall and Mr. Simon Hum-rocks.
principal agent of the line, the result of their insp.:-
tem. These gentletuen speedily organised seven
exploring parties--one for each of th se e parate
workings, and accompanied them to the bottom of the
pit, where the task .1 rescuing the living_and re 1111 l v•
mg the dead was at once entered upon. The., parties
worked under the directions of Air. Horrocka, Mr.
Hall, Mr. John Brook, manager of the Agecroft
Colliery ;Mr. lama Barker, manager of the Pendleton
Collierz; Mr. John Wallwork, manager of the Clifton
Mori/4 Colliery ; R. Taylor, underlooker at Pendle-
bury Colliery ; Thomas Williamson, uoderlooker at
.tgeenoft Colliery and John Taylor, fireman at
.Crecroft. The self•impopied duty was at once a
difficult and 3 dangerous
been extinguished by the blast, the artificial ventila•
tion of the pit was avowed, and although without the I
aid .4 heat tkere is a fair amount of ventilation, the I
recent passage .4 Ile. 'petiole, gas 'thong the workings '
and consequent presence...l after-damp, rendered the
atmosphere extremely dengrreal& if nut iujurious.
this, the force of the explosion had in many
planss torn the rooting of the workings, and thrown
down the walls, eo that the explon•rs wi•re hanile•red
in every direction. So complete was the destruction
that it %/31.1 found impoteuble by the explorer' to
penetrate for a greater distance than 100 or 150 yards
along any of tie Perking*. The first of the imprisoned •
men who werd reached escaped by way of the paseage
leading' to the Agecioft Colliery. 'Llits eas at about
11 o'cloult, ,}ll of them bad been working in the lbw.
and Fivedivarteni Minos, and it was evident front
their narratives that the explosion hail taken place in
the Trencherbone soon. After the first batch had
been re 1111 l ved, but ~low progress was made for a
time' and then the rescued came up in large numbers,
that 1 y sesou Iln men and leoys had asn•upled by
the .tireeruft shaft. They were for the need part but
slightly injun.d, mei were removed t., ti tir hones..
The-knowledge of what had occumd sPread rapidly
in the district, and is large crowd .4 posople from all
parts .4 l'endleton gatliensl and watched the pro.
seeding*. The work I.( rosette at this end of the
workinge was atoms} at two o'clock, by which time
12.1 men and boys. ii. addition to nine .lead had been
brought up the Agecioft eloatt. Many thoei• who
wen. fortunate enough thus to Peen's, were sick and
faint with their long exposure to the afterilautic and
°then. had, 'probably in their flight, received blows
which C 1111.41 minds 'if a 1110r1. eerie,.,
character. One little lad 'tamed 1 1 1 1
fOlind to have sustained a fracture of the elsidl. and
he wag without delay taken to the Pendleton branch
of the Salford Royal Hoskoital. where he (lied ?mon
after admionion. Of the nine dead men removed by
the .14recroft 'load seemed to have met their deaths
by drowning, amid anise had evidently been siffise;ated
by the foul gas.
While so much good with was being done at
kecruft, the men at Clifton Hall wo•re ntually busy.
e report of the expinsion, which was heard as far
as a male away, drew a large crowd of people teen
Swinton, Pendllebury, and all the district niund,
which is chielll !chabited by collier* awl their
IL,eand th.• needle I,f el pit they gathered
in large cnowda, seizing every poiht antage from
which they might see what WM Villg on. Some
adjoining banks Of Coal being thus fully oeciipieel, the
people *1143.34.1%er into the green fickle bordering .the
Colliery gro Is, and extended away in thin hues
towards the railway cutting. A picturesque' Peocil.i.
; toms noad leading Irma !ht: Dolton-road n. ttttt 1 many
sharp curves to the main entrance Z.: and
another running front Whit-lane, l'enilleton, to the
same spot were themghout the day crowded with
people and vehicle* hurrying to or from the pit. The
news of the explosion spread rapidly beyond the area
in which the report wee audible, and innitmenible
cabs (nun Pendleton. l'enillebiuy, Sa 'town, Krebs.,
Wonsley, and other places, were sent to the colliery in
the hope that they might be of service to the injured.
By mean. of the telephone the county police at the
various stations in the Manchester division well,
made acquainted with what had occurred, and in a
very aie,rt time fifty constables were bnought together
' and k!laotxrl under the control of Inspectors Botrke
and Kelly. 'flue duties, .4 the officer% NKR, however,
! light.
It was half-past eleven o'clock beton. any of the
; volunteers had an opportunity of rendering piny
service. At that hour three or four !nen were brought
I'' the surface, but their injuries were such that loin
I little meoistanoe could be given by nurse or d.e.tor, and
! they wen. at once re -est to their bonus'. Others
rapidly followed, and soon the cages were in constant
• work bringing men up the pit. By half-past one
o'clock 73 men had been brought up, if whom eleven
wen. dead : and an hour afts.rwarda th.• her had
increased by two, booth of whom wen. dead when
I found.

Every time the cage was brought to a standstill the
agitati ~,, in the crowd was painful to witness. Every
lead within visual range of the pit was stretched
eagerly forward, and each dead only as it wa4 carried
through the crowd to its temporary resting-lilac.. .was
anxiously scanned, while those twin. f.,rtiinate mmers
who wen. comparatively uninpurnd were thankfully
welcomed by friends and relatts CM, 011111 learned away
to their homes. .t stable at the foot of a great autumn.'
of coal-dust was converted into a mortuary, and there
the dead were laid upon beds of straw, ..snx.nsl with
sacking. Those whose relative,. had gone lid., the pit
gather..) ltere—a great crowd of silent women and
lium. The 1.14.... men on duty here, as elsewhere
about the pit, were most considerate, and fulfilled
their duty with patience andl sympathy. While the
general crowd were prohibited entering the stable, all
who had any reason to belie% that a relative or
friend was among the dead wen. admitted. They
went in by twos and threes—men, women, aryl
children, seeking hitslntels, fathers, or brothers. Thu.
building was butt ill.lishte.l for the isms.. uuf
tification, and what windows existed wen. constantly
blocked by anxious faces striving to peace the dark
backgnmind wherein WM' dieting,. Stretched on the
Is.'s of straw, three in a stall, with their heads ti the
mangers, the thirteen lay. Ti,.. fv. if olill• of the
men WAS white, and he had evidently been drown.sl,
but all the others were black and scorched : %bile
one issw h.llow the clothes seemed ti hay, Issm
ripped by the force of the blast. Under these circutw
stances to identify the men was most (filth oh, and
frequently the first claim put in by the distressed
relatives proved unfound...l. There were ISI 1.%, rays•
1 gant dinnonstratiens I If grief, but ti,.. „ith,i,„.l .„1,164,
of the child:NA:, the blank dismay &piths" on the
faces of the W.SIS•II, atol tilehtliefe.ly 5
in the men, told how deeply they fen their ben.ans
went. The closest inspection was necessary, the dead
nien's heads being raised by a kindly while a
sympathising colleague. threw the rays of a safety
!algae iils.n the tiptttrn.l features.
Att. r two ''click in the atterneen tlieilil, wing
party met sit", it.. success. Ti,, persons,/ it was
t, instantly being changed, it being itutswsible for the
11111.11 t. I retrain fir any great length of tulle in the
workings. Every effort was 1114014 to penetrate to
distant larts, mei win,, suit..',. was KR111.41 in the
direction of the Ihue and Fix.. quarters. Ti,.
Trencherbone, however, continued unapproachable.
By this time the belief became prevalent that the
men who werked in the two lhatmateued mines had
been navies', and that tie hAie. of such as 11441 di,.)
in them bad been renenni, and the authorities
JVllletilltly eillUe to the coeelusion that those in the
Trenclaturbone mine were beyond the maxi of assist-
ance. The atmosphere of the mine now became I
w um, and thy explorers worked with difficulty