The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-02-21 00:00:00

FRIGHTFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION
AT WIGAN, AND LOSS OF NEARLY
ONE HUNDRED LIVES.

EBY OUR ONYX REPORTER.]

TUE most appalling colliery explosion which ever hap-
pened in this district, or perhaps in any of the coal fields
in England, took place on Saturday afternoon last, shortly
after three o'clock, in an extensive muse belonging to the
Ince Hall Company, known as the Arley Mine, by which
no less than eighty-seven lives are already known to have
been sacrificed, and it is feared that, at least, some half
dozen others, whose bodies have not yet been found, are
also killed.
The mouth of the Arley Mine, which seems to be an
exceedingly unfortunate one, is situate about a mile and a
half to the south east of the hewn of Wigan, and is, per-
haps, by far the largest pit amongst the Lancashire coal
felds, the distance from the pit eye to the extreme end
of the works being not less than a mile and a half. The
-pit is divided into what are known as the north and south
drifts, about 120 hands being•employed in each drift. On
Saturday mornina-, the workpeople, to the number of
about 240, went down into the mine at the usual hour, for
the purpose of commencingtheir labours, and all went on
well until three o'clock in the afternoon, the hour at which
the hands cease working on a Saturday. Just at this time,
that portion of the hands employed in the south working
heard the sound of an explosion at the northern extremity
of the mine, and ran towards the pit, but had scarcely
time to escape before being overtaken with the "choke
damp." The greater part 'of them, however, managed to
ascend the shaft, unhurt, and the fact of the explosion
having been communicated to the manager and other
officials, Mr. James Dailhigton, the principal manager,
and others, descended, for the purpose of ascertaining the
extent of the disaster. 'ln the meantime the report of
what had happened spread rapidly, and in less than an
hour hundreds of the friends and relatives of those who
were known to be employed in the north drift assembled
around the pit eye, the scene being of the most heart-
rending description. The search for the missing hands
was continued for several hours, and at three o'clock on
Sunday morning 83 dead 'bodies had been brought up and
carried to stables and other outbuildings attached to the
Navigation Inn, a large-public-house close to the mine.
Yesterday we despatched our reporter to the scene of
the accident, and on his -arrival there he found the neigh-
bourhood of the mine, and more particularly the
premises attached to the Navigation Inn, besieged with
thousands of the inhabitants, anxious to learn the fate of
the unfortunate hands, and the actual extent of the loss of
life,, but up to last evening the exact number of the killed
had not been ascertained, as it was believed that in addi-
tion to the dead bodies 'found, there were about half a
dozen still missing. Six more bodies, in addition to the
81 already discovered up 'to three o'clock in the morning,
were brought up in the course of yesterday forenoon,
making the total number killed, so far as is at present
known, 87. The fireman,-amongst others, is still missing.
The blackened and mutilated corpses, as they now lie
in the different outbuildings at the NaVigation Inn, pre-
sent a shocking spectacle. In one apartment there are 23
laid on the ground side 'by side, many of them being
dreadfully burnt about theface and in different parts of the
body, but others seem to have been suffocated. The next
apartment which our reporter visited presented a still
more sickening spectacle. In this building there are 22
'bodies, several of whom, in addition to having been burnt,
'have also received dreadful bruises. In another apartment
there are twenty-seven dead 'bodies, amongst them being
a - boy, at present unclaimed, in a dreadfully mutilated
state He was found with his right arm blown completely
off, and lying at a distance of some ten or a dozen yards
from his body. His right leg was also shattered to pieces,
and fragments of it lay on the ground in different places.
A boy named William Gerard was also similarly
mutilated. His face and skull were cut completely
open, his right arm blown off, and his body shock-
ingly -mashed. Another boy, named Richard Graham,
was ,also frightfully disfigured. He was found with
his skull blown off, and his face so flattened as almost to
prevent recognition. The skull had not been found last
evening when our reporter left the spot. Both arms were
also blown off. The bodies lying in other apartments,
and nurdbering, in all, eighty-seven, presented much the
same appearance as described above.
In the course of yesterday afternoon it was a most dis-
tressing sight to see several fathers, mothers, brothers,
and sisters•coming to identify, if possible, and claim their
dead relatives. The dreadfully mutilated state of many
of them has hitherto prevented identification in several
cases, and up•to last night ten of the bodies had not been
claimed. Several women were employed during the
whole of yesterday in washing and laying out the bodies,
preparatory to the coroner's inquest, and their subsequent
interment.
The following is a list of the killed (in addition to
which it should 'be stated that several others have received
serious injuries):—

John Mather, 16,
Peter Roscow.
Thomas Ball, 20, sifigle.
Thomas Mitchell, 22, ditto.

. _
James Rigby. married, one child.
Joseph Rigby, 26, sincie.
John Ashhrook, 24, ditto.
Richard Woodcock, 37, married, three children.
Robert M'Allister, 25, single.
James Golding. 11, single.
John Bolderston, 22, single.
James Bolderston, 17, ditto..
Thomas Bolderston, n, ditto.
George Barlow, 24. married, one child.
Matthew Corleos, 29, married, no children.
Stephen Itow, 33.
John Thompson, 11, singte.
Francis M`Naught, 15, ditto.

John M`Gos‘an-, 19, ditto.
David Hill. 32, ditto.
Michael 111‘Donough, 22, ditto.
Owen M`Donough, 20. ditto.
William Dobson, 13, lies at home.
Richard Jones. married, one child.
Henry Peel. 30, de., four children.
Richard Dickenson, 15.
Robert Webster. 23, married, one child.
David Harrison, 33, do., four do.
James Webster, 14, single.

Thomas Dobson, 15,
Nicholas Sullivan, 12, do.
Joseph Thompson, 13, do.
Thomas Walker, 14, do.
Thomas Chatterly, age not known, married.
William Walton, 14, single.
John Cassidy. 75, do.
Thomas Dowd, 20, do.
James Gregory, 20, do.
James Kelly, 24, do.
George Kearsley, 15, do.
John Alpin, 16, do.
James Whittle, age unknown.
William Haymah, 25, married, three children.
Edward 11I•Gowan, 11, single.
John Hesketh, 25, married, one child.
William Rotherain, 30, single.
John Mather, 17, do,
William Lesiter, 50.
Edward Preston, 17, single.
John Markland, 24, married, two children.
Edward Lindsay, 33, do. five do.
James Markland, 22, single.
Richard Graham, 10, do.
William Gerard, 10, do.
Henry Dawber, 24, married, one child.
Richard Jackson, 22, single.
Richard Harley, 22, do.
Samuel Worthington, 20, married, one child.
William Yates, 10, single.
Jonathan Dixon, 10. do.
Martin Tunstall, 25, do.
Samuel Holding, 33, married, one child.
Thomas Marsden, 25, tingle.
Charles Benison, 19, do.
Patrick McGowen, 20, do.
M ic hael Cunningham, 20, do.
Richard Brimilow,- (fireman), 59, married, and several
grown-up children. He was in the none at the last ex-
plosion, but not injured.
William Gerard, 12, single.
William APLaren, 33, ditto. •
John Marsden, 19, ditto. •
James Sharrock, 19, ditto.
John Atherton, 19, ditto.
John Fletcher, 13, ditto.
William Fairhurst, 14, ditto.
William Mulridge, 18, ditto.
Mark Shore, 24, ditto.
•
And ten others yet unclaimed. . • _

Yesterday, the coroner, E. C. Driflield, Esq., visited the
spot, and made arrangements for the commencement of
the inquest. The enquiry will be opened this afternoon
at four o'clock, at the Navigation Inn, but it is under-
stood that it will be merely for the purpose of identifying
the bodies preparatory.to interment, and that the inquest
will then be adjourned for some days, in order to give Mr.
Dickinson , inspector of mines for this district, an opportunity
of making a close examination of the mine and its ma-
nagement. Mr. Dickenson was at the mine yesterday
afternoon, and we learn that lie considers the catastrophe
to be one of such a fearful nature, and involving such vast
and important consequences,• that he has determined to
solicit the assistance of Mr. Winn, another of the govern-
ment inspectors, to accompany, him in his examination of
the mine, From all cur reporter could gather -esterclaY