The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-03 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESD A EVENING, MARCH 3, 857.

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION NEAR

BARNSLEY.

The inquiry into the circumstances connected
with the death of Abraham Turner, who was one
of the 19 men got out of the Lundhill Colliery
alive a few hours afterthe explosion, and who died
on the foll Owing Saturday, was resumed yesterday
at the Bull's Head Inn, Brampton, before Mr. T.
Badger, coroner.
Mr. C. Morton, the Government Inspector was
present, as were also the proprietors of the pits.
Mr. W. H. Peacock, solicitor, Barnsley, again at-
tended on behalf of the proprietors. •
The following evidence was adduced :
John Warhurst, one of the firemen, was recrlled
and said--I bad a conversation with William
Lodge,.one of the miners, on the evening of the
18th of February, the day preceding the explosion.
Lodga was working in the top level of the Lund-
hill pit. I went into his place previous to his de-
scending on the evening of that day, as I always do
into all of them. It was about five o'clock when I
.did so. I examined and found it quite clear of
gas. After all the men had gone to their dinner,
and I had got to the bottom, he sent his hurrier,
John Earnshawe for .me. In consequence of what
the burlier said, I told him to tell -Lodge that his
place was quite safe. I then gave the hurrier a
Davy lamp, and told him to tell Lodge to try for
himself. In about a quarter of an hour afterwards
I went to Lodge on the top level. I found him and
his hUrr;er filling a corfe. The lamp was behind
the code. I, said, "Now, Lodge, have you tried
lit ?" He said, "No, I don't understau.
then took up the lamp, and went over the eciarslo
the face. Lodge followed me over. I put the lamp
up to the roof and said, "Now, you see there
-is no
gas." He said, "Yes, I see there is none." I then
went and sat down along with Lodge. He said he
was satisfied there -was-no gas, but added that in
case anything, was to happen• what would be the
consequence ? I replied, " That very likely-I
should
be wrong for not making him work with lamps."
He said if anything were to happen he should make
a bother. .I replied; "As you say so, I will make
you -workavith lamps." He said, -Y?ort won't, I will
leave the place first ;". and besides he said, " What
occasion is there to work with lamps ?" Lodge said
the batteries were a long way off. I said we had
gone considerably further very often without brat-
tices in levels and slits, and I had never seen any
gas. The brattices were from 20 to 30 yards from
the- faCe; as near as I can judge. According to rule
23, they ought not to have been more than 12 feet
from the facing. I never saw occasion for having
brattices'at all in the slips or levels, so far as re-
gards any danger from gas. The coal does not make
much-gas on the end, and never has done. In the
boards we keep up to rule 23. We have driven
levels and slits for more thari 40 yards without
any biatt;ce. I believe it is customary in all the
pits in the district not to brattice the slits and levels
according to rule 23.
By Mr: Morton—lt was in the top level, _on the
north side, where I was talking with Lodge. There
was no other person present except Lodge's hurrier.
Lodge was working with candle.
What is the greatest distance you have ever
driven without brattices slit 4, 42 or 43 yards;
in Ledge's place they were from 20 to 30 yards
from the face of the level. On that day we had no
working place in the pit where the brattices were
further from the facings, nor any so far as in
Lodge's.. I bad seen all the working places in the
pit on the day prior to the exp'osion.
Has any other person besides Lodge ever said
anything to you about the brattices being so far be=
hind ?—Never, plenty have grumbled about their
being so near.
Have you ever had any consultation with Mr.
Coe about brattices ?—I have sometime told him we
were short of brattices, or sheeting& He always
told me it .1 saw anything wanting to let him know.
Mr. Coe has reprimanded me for allowing the brat-
tices to be so far from the face. That has been in
the case of boardgates. He has also at times, said,
in reference to the endings and levels, " You must
get some brattices up here." But still it has never
been our custom to comply with rule 23 in refer-
ence to brattices in the levels, ends, slits, never
having seen any occasion for it, because there was
no gas.
Who are the persons who saw no such necessity ?
—Myself, William Beavers, and William Corbidge.
We have consulted together at different times about
the brattices not having been kept up in the ends
and levels according to rule 23.
Has Mr. Coe sanctioned the breach of rule in
these respects ?—I am not aware he has been strict
wilh us about the brattices in the slits or levels ;
bid he has been very strict about brattices in the
boardgates. The men working in the boards have
cursed and sworn they would go out if we put
boards up as ordered by Mr. Coe.
Whit orders did Mr. Coe give as to brattices in
the boards ?—He ordered. U 9 to keep up with the
rule 23.
After the men found fault with having the brat-
tices so near, did you put them up or keep thOm
down ?—Sometimes we have put them up and some-
times on persuasion kept them down, the men not
being able-to keep their candles in on account of
the current. We had wood shaders to protect the
candles, but they sweated away to the extent of
five or six in the hour. On the day previous to the
explosion there were no brattices in boardgates so
much as 12 feet from the face. None of the stop-
pings or doors were wrong to my knowledge. We
have not been in the habit of having more than one
slip open near the face of the boardgates or levels.
On the day previous to the explosion we had not
had any greater fall from tha roof than usual. There
had not been any great falls from the roof on that
day, but there had been small falls from the roof,
which is what is called a tender one and falls
readily. I carefully examined the gooves the day
before the explosion with a safety lamp. They
were quite clear of gas. It was on the evening of
the d&y preceding the explosion Pexamined hem.
I being in the night shift, left the pit about three
o'clock on the morning of the explosion. I did
not see gas in any place that morning—did not find
a single place from one end of the pit to the other
where it would fire at my lamp. The flame of
my limp did not show fire at all. We had not
one Davy lamp at work on that day in any
part of the pi -. It is very seldom we have bad
to use lamps, and when we have it has always been
iu the boards. • I don't know that they have been
required in any place in particular. The board-
gates, which go straight from the pit bottom, are
considerably farther up than the others. We have
not had occasion to use lamps in those boardgates
for ;ix months at least, not to my knowledge. We

have at times had occasion, when there has been a
"feeder" or "blower," to use them in the second
boardgate, on the north side of the pit. We have
sometimes had "feeders" or " blowers" of gas.
I don't know that we have had them anywhere but
in the second boardgates. The feeders or blowers
were very trifling ones.
Have you always acquaintel Mr. Coe with it,
when you have seen blowers I—l don't recollect
that we have had any since Mr. Coe came to the
pit, which is only about four months ago.
Have you seen Mr. Coe measure the quantity of
air in the pit ?—Yes.
With' the anemometer ?—Yes.
Where ?--In the cupola (air shaft) boardgate,
into which the . whole ventilation of the pit is
brought.
Hassection arlue alre2a3ofbethene
aiorbesoeurrvseeds
?ill rI
ceafnnereontcse tope thakthe
that ; I don't know what it is.
Do you know if there are any aircourses or air-
crossings less than 30 square feet sectional area as
required by rule 237—Yes, there are some less of
both kinds. •
What is the size of the smallest?—We have
some not more than 4ft. square, because the roof is
so bad that it crushes the packs down.
The Coroner—l asked you last Monday if you
could at all account for the explosion. After you
have hal a week's consideration I now repeat the
question. Can you give me any account of it ex-
cept what you gave last week ?—I cannot ; unless,
as I said last week, a trap-door may have been
left open. We had boys to attend to the trap-
doors—one at every door, except those in the slits,
which the bunion; open and shut themselves.
Mr. Morton.—Has theleaving open of doors often
come to your knowledge ?—No ; we have nine
doors at boardends, and as near as I can recollect
25 or 26 in slits.
Mr. W. Maddison, of Barnsley, colliery viewer,
said—l heard of the explosion at Lundhill shortly
after it occurred, and immediately proceeded to the
place. I reached there about 20 minutes before 1
o'clock in the afternoon. I found the men had just
finished fastening the broken chain in the bead
gear, and busy transferring the ropes on the drum,
one of them being fastened to the chair in the
bottom. Seeing that I could be of some assistance
I superintended with one or two others the altera-
tion of the ropes on the drum ; and not knowing
what other means there were at the colliery, and
no one to inform me at hand, and knowing also
that we had a " crab" with the necessary length of
rope attached, I immediately pent for it to Womb-

well Main Colliery, where lam employed. This
" crab" could only be reqUired in case of some un-
foreseen accident in altering the ropes of the pif..
Every exertion was made, and the unoccupied
drawing rope was put into operation by a quartei
before 3 o'clock. There was no unnecessary delay.
I may just say that I am the manager at the Womb-
well Main Colliery. As soon as the rope was got
into operation, Mr. Coe, along with two of his owls
men, got auto the tub and proceeded down the
shaft, being drawn to the bank at intervals in con-
sequence of meeting in their descent with pieces of,
timber hanging loose in the shaft, and which it was
necessary to remove for their own safety. After
being drawn up three or four Imes they at last
reached the bottom. Mr. Coe shortly returned to
the bank, and asked Mr. Webster and myself to ac-
company him to the office to examine the plan;
which we did. Immediately afterwards, we all pro-
ceeded to the pit, and together with W. Utley, un-
derground steward at Wombwell Main Colliery,
proceeded to the bottom of the pit. We had very
great difficulty in keeping our lights, those in the
Davy lamps being altogetherblownup, and wewere
compelled to make use of a common blast lamp in
order to obtain a light at the bottom. On getting
out of the tub at the bottom, about eight or ten
feet from the rails we had to scramble over a
largo amount of fragments,,
apparently of broken
slidesjand staves. We then went to what had been
the lamp cavern, where we lit our dead lamps. We,
immediately proceeded along the south road. The
first opening I came to, 15 or 16 yards from the
shaft bottom,, was a irspt communication with the
bottom of the upcaeran which Me.*Coeeinformag
us there had been two doors, but not a vestige of
them remained. The fire at the bottom of the up-
cast was raging furiously. The whole of the arches
of the furnace were one mass of ruin, and the fire
was shooting up between the stones. We could
also see fire coming down the centre beard-gate
directly to the bottom of the upcast shaft. We
saw the flames shooting across, effectually stopping
us from proceeding further. We continued going
to the rise, still with the hope of getting round the
fire, and found the coal on fire at the post of the
next corner, but so slight that it was afterwards
put out. We got about one-pillar higher than this
to the rise, which would be .about 70 yards to the
rise from the horse-road. At this point Mr. Coe
left us, and went still further up, until he could
proceed no further for want of air. We then re-
ns at the
leaving
gy
into the
stuecronnel ibnotaro
dtlgieateh.orsemr-reoadw,ehnst
horse-road, and he continued along to the south.
He joined us in the horse-road about 100 yards
from the shaft. We procee led up the south-road
about 350 yards, and found three dead bodies.
Going to the rise, up every boardgate we came to,
until stopped for want of a'r, and the gas fired in
the lamps, beyond which we considered it unsafe
to proceed, we returned to the downcast shaft. We
did not find any persons alive on the south side of
the pit. We then went on fhe north side. On
the north horse-road, 10 or 12 yards from the bot-
tom, we saw a horse dead, which had apparently
just come to the shaft bottom with a train of coals.
I should say he was burnt. In front of him had
been four or five tubs, on to the top of which he had
been blown by the explosion. Atter going four or
five yards fur her north we turned up the board into
the stables, and found one horse dead at the en-
ance and another near it. The stables we found on
fire, the fire being principally on the rise side of
the stable', at the head, in the boy crib, and on the
surrounding coal. We then went down the north
horse-road, turning up the first boardgate to get to
the other side of the fire. We found the stables
on fire there also, and a large body of smoke back-
ing along the end to the north, which rather led us
to suppose there might be fire still further to the
north. We could not however perceive any. We
then returned to the north horse road, and pro-
ceeded along it, having a current of air along with
us. We found several dead bodies in this horse-
road. We went up No. 2 boardgate until we again
lost our air and could proceed no further. The
want of air and firing of the lamps stopped us when
we had got 40 or 50 yards up. Again returning to
the north horse-road we proceeded along it, exa-
mining the stoppings as we went, and finding some
of them not seriously injured we went up No. 3
boardgate about 40 or 50 yards, and had again to
return in consequence of the want of air and firing
of the gas in our lamps. We continued up the
north horse-cold until we reached within 40_yards
of the facing, and at the end of the fourth board=
gate., We then found a body which; I think, was
dreadfully burnt, but it was so black I could not
tell positively. Some one of the party—l think
Mr. Coe—proceeded to a water level, which was
being driven in the dip to the east, and where a
man would bs working at tlie time of the explosion.
His body was found there, and brought into the
horse-road. At this time Warhurst came to us
from the shaft bottom, saying, if we did not at once
return there would be no means of escape. I should
say this would be about a quarter to 7 o'clock. We
did not even then leave the No. 4 boardgate until
we had examined every direction in which it was
possible for any one to live. One of the party—l
believe Mr. Coe—went up to the No. 4 boardgate.
We in no case returned until the lamps fired. We
also examined minutely three or four places which
were being driven to the dip similar to the one
I have previously spoken of, but did not find any
body dead or living in them, those who had been
working there having evidently escaped. We then
returned on the north boardgate, conntingthe bodies
o
as we passed, and found them to be eight, the last
which we had not observed at all in going north,
and only discovered it, in returning, from my foot
touching the body. It was lying under a tub of
coals. On getting near the shalt we again went
towards the south end of the stables, in which we
found the fire raging so furiously that it was utterly
impossible for us to go near it. The whole length
of the stables, and evidently from that point to the
centre boardgate—a length of upwards of 100 yards
—was in one white sheet of flame. The sides of
the coal, timber, and everything inflammable, were
on fire. It was fearful to contemplate the differ-
ence that had taken place in the state of the fire be-
tween the time of our going up the north boardgate
and returning again. In the first instance we
might have gone up to the fire and kicked it with
our feet ; but, in the second, we durst not go
within several yards of it. We went from the bot-
tom of the downcast to the bottom of the upcast,
the whole of the bottom of which was one white
heat. It was like the bottom of a melting-furnace.
Before going along the north horse-road we had or-
dered that the bodies of the three men found in the
south horse-road should be brought to the shaft-
bottom as quickly as possible in order that they
might be sent to bank. On arriving at the shaft-
bo.tom from the north horse-road we gave similar
instructions with respect to the eight bodies found
in that horse-road. The men proceeded to perform
that duty. We did not leave the pit until I myself
felt convinced beyond a doubt that there could not
be by possibility any living person in the pit, ex-
cepting those who had descended after the explo-
sion. We then came out of the pit. It was about
half-past seven when we got out. We thereupon
went to the office to consult with the owners of the
colliery as to the best and most efficient means in
that emergency. We had .not left the pit many
minutes before the whole of the men whom we had
left down came out, declaring it utterly impossible
for them to remain any longer. When we got into
the office there were present Mr. R C. Webster,
of Hoyland, Mr, Joseph Coe (the underground
steward), Mr. William Utley, of Wombwell Main
Colliery, and Mr. John Hoyland, of Rawmarah
Colliery, Mr. Duckworth, of Wombwell Main Col-
liery, James Cookson! of Hoyland, Wm. Beever,
John Warhurst, Benjamin Hoyland, Durley North
Main, John James, and Ellis Wilcock, both of
Wombwell Main. All these men are connected
with collieries, and bad been down the pit. Mr.
Taylor (proprietor) and Mr. Peacock (solicitor)
were also present. There was a consultation, and
the question was put to each of them as to whether
anything further could then be done for the reco-
very of the bodies, or whether in their opinion, any
one was still in the pit. The answer of each was,
" I am decidedly' of opinion, since examining the
pit, that there is not now a living person in the
pit, and that at this hour (1.49) it would be dan-
gerous for any man to descend the pit for any pur-
pose whatever, and that the only way now the fire
is raging so fiercely is to close the downcast shafts,
and I think it should be done immediately."
When we came out of the pit there was a very
strong current, and the flames were just peeping
out of cupola shaft, and at 7.40 they had risen up-
wards of 100 feet above the cupola top, and the
sparks rose to at least 300 feet in the, air. In pur-
suance of our unanimous decision we then closed
the top of the downcast shafts, leaving the cupola
open. Icannot
anyexoamination form any
one
object to closing
opinion as to what was the cause of the explosion.
B
the pit ? No one. From my experience of y
Mr. fro
Morton—Didm m y
col-
lieries every exertion was made to get into the pit
as speedily as possible.
Mr. Morton--Can you form any opinion as to
the utmost extent of the flames 'westwards from the
bottom of the upcast shaft I Upwards of 50 yards

when I saw it, but ultimately I should say from 70
to 80 yards west. The western extremity of the
flames would be eight yards above•the horse-road.
There was afterdamp, but not so much of that as of
_explosive gas. I cannot tell where there were the
greatest indications of ignited gas. Gas in a state
of ignition had prevailed along the horse-road from
the two extremes of our journey, which is nearly
half a I cannot speak positively,• but should
say that ignited gas had existed up -the several
boardgates.
By the Foreman.—l could not have suggested a
better plan to get earlier into the colliery. The
best means were adopted. There was no deficiency
of ropes or anything else actually nece-sary to get
down. Things were sent for, such as duplicate
workings, with the idea that they might possibly
'be required.
The inquiry was proceeding when our report was
sent off.