logo Museum
Museum
Friends of Durham Mining Museum
Events Calendar
e-Books and Books for sale
Photograph Gallery
Document Archive
Master Name Index
What's new in the site
Donate to support the Museum
Mining
Mining History
Colliery Index
Colliery Maps
Company Overviews
Who's Who
Mineral Information
Managers Certificates
Educational Material
Bibliography
Statistics
Workers/Employee Lists
Notes for Family Historians
War Service information
Disasters
Disaster Reports
Names of those killed
Disasters in the 1700s
Disasters in the 1800s
Disasters in the 1900s
Memorials
Awards for Gallantry
On this day ...

Links to other sites of interest
Industrial Heritage Days Out
Former www.pitwork.net web site

Index to site

Contact and address details

Share Page with Social Media

Share on Facebook

Share with Reddit

Share on Delicious

  Individual Details   Individual Details  
 


Matthew Tempest

Age:   38
Died:   2nd Dec 1886
Accident:   2nd Dec 1886 2:50 AM
Year Born:   abt. 1848
Colliery:   Elemore
Company:   Hetton Coal Co., Ltd.
Occupation:   Hewer
Notes:  
killed in the 1886 explosion (ignition caused by shot firing)
Buried:   [not known]
Category:  

Description

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.


Memorial: 1886 Elemore Colliery Disaster

Memorial Image Memorial Image Memorial Image Memorial Image Memorial Image Memorial Image Memorial Image


Memorial



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-00292-00-0002 and we will make the image available on a temporary page for you to access.

Names in this memorial picture
NameDiedAgeBorn
David HUNTER  2nd Dec 1886  40  1846 
John LUKE  2nd Dec 1886  38  1848 
William SEEDS  2nd Dec 1886  41  1845 
Thomas SPENCE  2nd Dec 1886  36  1850 
Francis D. STRAUGHAN  2nd Dec 1886  39  1847 
Matthew TEMPEST  2nd Dec 1886  38  1848 
George THOMPSON  2nd Dec 1886  43  1843 
Joseph WILLIAMS  2nd Dec 1886  37  1849 

Related Articles

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)

Further Reading


Sources
  • Headstone(s) and Memorial in St. Michael and All Angels Churchyard, Hetton Lyons
  • Memorial in St. Michael and All Angels Churchyard, Hetton Lyons
  • Memorial photograph (T-00292-00-0002) © Kev Duncan
  • Mining - an elementary treatise on the getting of minerals by Arnold Lupton, M.I.C.E., F.G.S., published in 1893

Researchers

Email  Researcher  Date  Interest 
Rose Milburn   24 Jan 2010 

My Great Grandfather George Tempest was the son of Matthew Tempest. I believe Matthew was married to a lady called Hannah. Any information appreciated.


If you are researching Matthew Tempest (e.g. for family tree purposes) and you would like to hear from others with the same interest then please complete the details in the following form. We will show the information you provide on this page so that you can be contacted.

What is your name?
What is your contact email address?
What is your research interest?

 

Return Return   Return Return to Top

 

mail
Mail:
Webmaster
Back
Back
Home
Home
Open Government Licence   Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Copyright © 1999-2024 by The Durham Mining Museum and its contributors
Registered Charity No: 1110608
Page last updated: 31 Dec 2022

Privacy Policy
 
Terms & Conditions
 
Search
Search
Print
Print