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Samuel Grice
| Age: | 29 |
| Died: | 2nd Dec 1886 |
| Accident: | 2nd Dec 1886 2:50 AM |
| Year Born: | abt. 1857 |
| Colliery: | Elemore |
| Company: | Hetton Coal Co., Ltd. |
| Occupation: | Stoneman |
| Notes: | killed in the 1886 explosion (ignition caused by shot firing) |
| Buried: | Churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels, Lyons |
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| Description | |
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Perhaps one of the most extraordinary coal-dust explosions was that which occurred at the Elemore Colliery in Durham, in December, 1886. The evidence shows intake that the explosion originated in a main haulage road within 200 yards of the downcast shaft. It was an old colliery; the road had been made for many years, and there was a current of 37,000 cubic feet a minute of fresh air passing the place where it is said the explosion originated. On the night of the explosion some miners were at work enlarging the road at the place marked + on the plan (Fig. 339) and also on the section (Fig. 340). Several shots were fired by one shift of men, who were relieved by a second shift, who fired another shot, after which the mine exploded. The evidence seems to show that it was impossible for the explosion to have originated in any other part of the mine. The flame was seen to rush into the downcast shaft, and go down the shaft and enter a seam of coal on a lower level and pass along the intake haulage road, and go still further down the shaft and enter another seam on a still lower level. Everywhere the flame traversed intake haulage roads for a total length of 3500 yards. There was no explosion in the return air-roads; there was no explosion in the working places. The intake haulage roads were dry and dusty, and it is inconceivable that there could have been fire-damp in these intake roads and no fire-damp in the working places and returns. The conclusion is irresistible that this was an explosion of coal-dust.
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| Census Data | |
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1881 Census
Address: High Lane Ends, Hetton Le Hole, Co. Durham
(Ref: RG11 / 4976 / 67 / 3)
| Name | Age | Rel | Mar | Occupation | Where Born | Born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRICE, Joseph | 66 | Head | Mar | Retired Coal Miner | STS: Dalston | 1815 |
| GRICE, Mary | 60 | Wife | Mar | STS: Dalston | 1821 | |
| GRICE, Samuel | 23 | Son | Unn | Coal Miner | STS: Dalston | 1858 |
Please note: the census extracts shown here are our 'best guess match' to the person shown on this page and is not intended to be definitive — only knowledge of the family would allow this.
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| Memorial: 1886 Elemore Colliery Disaster | |
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| Tombstone | |
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Hetton Lyons — St. Michael and All Angels Churchyard
Location: OS Map 88, Grid Ref NZ367457
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This is a low resolution image for web display, if you would like to have a higher resolution image, then please
us quoting reference T-00302-00-0002 and we will make the image available on a temporary page for you to access.
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| Names on this tombstone | |||
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| Name | Died | Age | Born |
| Joseph GRICE | 15th Apr 1889 | 4 | 1885 |
| Rachael GRICE | |||
| Samuel GRICE | 2nd Dec 1886 | 29 | 1857 |
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| Related Articles | |
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| Pub. Date | Article (Newspaper) |
|---|---|
| 03 Dec 1886 | Fatal Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 04 Dec 1886 | The Fatal Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 06 Dec 1886 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 07 Dec 1886 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 21 Dec 1886 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 22 Dec 1886 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 23 Dec 1886 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
| 16 Jun 1887 | The Elemore Colliery Explosion (The Times) |
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| Further Reading | |
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- Mines Inspectors Report into the 1886 Disaster (C. 5065)
- Durham Mining Disasters, c.1700 - 1950s by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2008, ISBN 1-845630-73-4
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| Sources | |
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- 1881 Census — taken 3rd April, 1881
- Church/Cemetery photograph (T-00216-00-0002) © Kev Duncan
- Headstone(s) and Memorial in St. Michael and All Angels Churchyard, Hetton Lyons
- Mining - an elementary treatise on the getting of minerals by Arnold Lupton, M.I.C.E., F.G.S., published in 1893
- Tombstone photograph (T-00302-00-0002) © Kev Duncan
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| Researchers | |
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| Researcher | Date | Interest | |
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| John Land | 18 Jan 2009 |
My interest in The Family Name of Grice stems from my Grandmother Etta Grice and a relative Frederick Grice from Suffolk and Brandon and his brother Henry / Harry Grice and details would be treated with the utmost security Regards John Land |
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| patricia wolfe | 11 Feb 2011 |
my husband's ggrandfather was frederick scott grice..he came to arkansas when he was 16 years old and married here..he came with the williams family and he married their daughter..he would no talk about his life before arkansas so we do not know anything about his former life..he spoke sometimes with a sad touch about a ittle brother named joe whom he left behind..I was wondering if mabye this frederick grice could be his father or grandfather..we would love to know more about his family..he came to arkansas from mississippi.. anything you could tell us would be greatly appreicated.. and thank you very much for your time.. |
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| Peter White | 13 Oct 2020 |
Samuel Grace was my great great grandfather. His daughter Hannah Johnson Grice (who married William Robson) was my great grandmother. Her son Leonard was my mum‘s dad... Samurel’s father (also a Joseph) was mine manager at Sherborne Colliery - we have a photo of him with his ‘staff of office’. |
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