Tweet

1. On the 16th February 1882, at about half-past two o'clock in the afternoon, an explosion took place in the Trimdon Grange Colliery, 11 miles from Durham, causing the death of 69 persons. A coroner's inquest on two of the bodies was formally opened on the following day by Mr. Crofton Maynard, the coroner for the district in which the accident occurred, and was continued on the 29th, 30th, and 31st March, and 1st April following. The inquest was attended throughout by Mr. Thomas Bell and Mr. Willis, Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines for Durham and Northumberland; Mr. Atkinson, Assistant Government Inspector, was also present. Mr. Bowey, solicitor, of Sunderland, and Mr. Heaviside of Durham, attended on behalf of the Durham Miners' Association; several representative members of that body, as well as of the Miners' National Union, being also present to watch the proceedings. The owner of the colliery was represented by counsel (Mr. John Edge), instructed by Mr. Stanton, solicitor, of Newcastle. I attended on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. At the close of the inquiry the jury found the following verdict :–

"We have all agreed that John Ramsay, William Jefferson, and 67 others, men and boys, lost their lives by an explosion of gas in the Pit Narrow Board Long-wall, in the Harvey Seam of the Trimdon Grange Colliery, on the 16th February last, but from what cause the explosion took place we have no sufficient evidence to show. We recommend that in future no shots be fired in the day time, or during the time the men are in the pit, within 40 yards of a standing or falling goaf, and would also recommend that more deputies be employed in the pit. We would also recommend that a general report book be kept, and that each official's report book be copied into this book daily."

3. Trimdon Grange Colliery was formerly the property of the late Mr. Mathew Forster, and was purchased by its present owner Mr. Walter Scott, contractor, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, in August 1880, together with the adjoining colliery of East Hetton, also known as Kelloe. The shafts of Trimdon Grange Pit are situated within a few hundred yards of Trimdon Station of the Hartlepool and Ferryhill Railway, the colliery itself being situated upon the south edge of the Durham coal field. The following brief description of the Trimdon Grange mine will be more easily understood by a reference to the subjoined plans. On "Plan A" is shown (on vertical plan) the arrangement of shafts, furnaces, drifts, engines, and seams. "Plan B" is a general plan of the Trimdon Grange and East Hetton collieries, showing, on a scale of 25 inches to the mile, the whole of the working in the Harvey Seam to which reference was made during the inquiry. "Plan C" and "Plan D" represent, on the larger scale of 1 chain to an inch, the workings in the "Pit Narrow Board" District lying to the north, and the "Headways" District lying to the south of the Trimdon Grange Pit.

4. On Plan A are given the relative positions and depths of, and the communications between, the "Low Main" Seam (97 fathoms) and the "Harvey" Seam (143 fathoms); the only seams now worked. The blue lines (Plan B) represent the course of the intake, and the red lines that of the return ventilation in the Harvey Seam. The portion of the Trimdon Grange Pit shown upon Plan B is practically divided into three districts: (1) the Pit Narrow Board District, lying to the north; (2) the Headway District to the south; and (3) the Crosscut District lying between (1) and (2). An entrance to the Kelloe Headways leads to the Kelloe mine, and is closed by a door at the Trimdon Grange end. The face of the work lying to the north of the goaf of the Pit Narrow District is approached from the "flat" by three "ways" shown on the plan and known respectively as the "First South," "Second South," and "Third South," and the system of working throughout the Pit Narrow Board District is to work the pillars back along the wall through the whole level. The pit is ventilated by means of a furnace 21 x 6 feet, close to the upcast (see Plan B), which can be worked either as an intake or return air furnace. On the day of the explosion it was worked with return air.

5. The names of the men and boys who were killed are printed so as to denote as nearly as possible the spot at which each body was found; whilst the colours in which the names are printed are intended to indicate, according to the reference, the immediate cause of death in each instance.

6. The stratification above the Harvey Seam consists of strong blue stone and post girdles, and above that the ordinary coal measures until the limestone is reached; the layers forming the roof of the seam being in the following order and thickness :–

Stone	Thickness			Depth
	fath.	ft.	in.	fath.	ft.	in.
Whin post	1	0	4	130	0	5
Dark metal with iron girdles	4	1	7
Grey post with partings	2	4	10
Strong white post with grey partings	3	5	0
Blue metal stone	0	1	8
Harvey Seam (coal)	0	3	9	12	5	2
Depth of Harvey Seam				142	5	7

7. The length of the underground workings and passages of the Trimdon Grange Colliery is as follows :–

	Miles	Yards
Workings passable by men	6	1,400
Workings passable by horses and tramways	4	984

The greatest vertical depth below the surface is 975 feet, and the length of the largest air-current is 3 miles 140 yards.

8. The total air-current in the mine averages about 90,000 cubic feet per minute and is divided into several "splits." The last measurement of air taken before the explosion was on the 8th February, and gave a total quantity of 93,712 cubic feet per minute, and was thus distributed :–

Five-quarter Seam (not worked)	5,400
Main Coal Seam (not worked)	7,200
Low Main Seam	28,528
Harvey Seam	52,584
	93,712

The 52,584 going into the Harvey Seam was thus divided :–

South Side Workings	8,640
Do. do. Roper's way	7,740
Engine	4,250
Pit Narrow Board District	12,560
Cross-out District	8,533
Headways District	10,971
	52,584

9. The "splits" dividing the three districts mentioned in the foregoing table are shown by acute angles formed by the blue lines on Plan B. From the 12,560 cubic feet going into the Pit Narrow Board District about 1,000 may be deducted for the crank-way and about 1,000 each for the First, Second, and Third South ways respectively, the three last-mentioned scales joining the main in the face of the long wall. Of the 10,971 cubic feet going into the Headways District, about 2,000 went through a regulator at R on Plan B, and skirted the Cross-cut goaf on the north side, and 1,000 went through the Kelloe doors. On the day of the explosion the lengths of intakes and returns were :–

	Intake		Return
Pit Narrow Board	1,757	yards	1,716	yards.
Cross-cut	994	,,	1,232	,,
Headways	1,045	,,	1,320	,,

the sectional areas of the intake and return being 48 and 36 square feet respectively. The area of the goaves is given on Plan B.

10. The Trimdon Grange mine is admittedly "a dusty mine." The rolleyways were stated to have been "watered every day," but this appears to have been "not in all places, but where it was absolutely necessary."

11. The mine does not appear to be more than ordinarily "gassy." The report books, of the Fore and Back Overmen, of the Master Shifter, and Master Wasteman, and of the Deputies, were produced, and the entries for the three months preceding the explosion were examined. The entries showing the discovery of gas were but seven in number, and these entries, with one exception, occurred in the book kept by the back overman, who was killed. The Fore Overman, who was examined, had reported none. It was in evidence that, owing to the dip and inclination of the strata towards the east and south-east, any accumulation of gas in the roof immediately above the goaves would make its way towards the places marked "points of leakage of gas" on Plan B. Thus, indications of the presence of gas might be expected to be found at the "point of leakage" of the Pit Narrow Board goaf, but the gas would find its way at once into the return. At the "point of leakage" in the Cross-cut goaf it might be looked for in the neighbourhood of the regulator near the doors of the Kelloe Pit, while any leakage from the Headways goaf would probably occur in the corner near "Maitland's" place. The entries in the report books coincided with this theory.

12. The only lamp in use in the mine was the old Davy pattern with a sliding shield. Naked lights called "midgies" were used by the driver boys, and were permitted as far as the caution boards, placed at safe distances from the working places. There was no evidence to show, or reason to suppose that improper advantage had been taken of this permission, or that the explosion was caused by the use of naked lights.

13. Good order and discipline prevailed in Trimdon Grange Colliery. No serious reports of disobedience or breach of rules on the part of the miners were alleged, nor were there any complaints of smoking, concealment of lucifer matches, or disobedience to the orders of the deputies. There was, in fact, nothing in the evidence to suggest that the explosion might have been the result of carelessness or misconduct on the part of the miners. The Special Rules in use in the mine were those drawn up by the Committee of the North of England United Coal Trade Association for the use of mines where the employment of safety lamps is obligatory.

14. The sufficiency of the number of Deputies employed formed a special subject of investigation during the inquiry, it appearing that on the 13th February, three days before the explosion, a reduction had been made in their number, and an additional amount of labour in the search for gas and other work thus imposed upon the Deputies who were retained, notably in the Pit Narrow Board District, where the work formerly performed by four Deputies was distributed amongst three. It was, however, shown that the number of hewers had likewise been lessened, and after the fullest investigation it was not made to appear that the explosion was in any way attributable to an inefficient or perfunctory discharge of their duty by the overman or deputies.

15. The following table gives the readings at the pit bank and underground for the month immediately preceding the explosion :–

		At the Bank		Underground
Date		Barometer	Thermometer	Barometer	Thermometer
1882
January	16	30.10	39	31.00	51
''	17	30.20	37	31.15	50
''	18	30.30	35	31.20	50
''	19	30.40	48	31.30	51
''	20	30.20	40	31.10	51
''	21	30.10	37	31.10	51
''	23	29.90	37	30.80	49
''	24	30.10	46	31.00	52
''	25	29.90	42	30.90	52
''	26	30.10	37	31.00	51
''	27	29.80	33	30.70	50
''	28	29.60	37	30.60	50
''	29	29.70	37	30.60	50
''	30	29.80	37	30.80	50
''	31	30.00	39	31.00	50
February	1	30.10	35	31.10	50
''	2	29.90	31	30.80	49
''	3	30.00	37	30.90	49
''	4	29.90	35	30.80	50
''	5	30.00	40	30.80	50
''	6	29.90	45	30.80	50
''	7	30.00	44	31.00	51
''	8	29.90	40	30.90	51
''	9	29.80	35	30.80	50
''	10	29.70	34	30.60	51
''	11	29.50	38	30.30	50
''	12	29.30	40	30.20	50
''	13	29.30	44	30.10	51
''	14	29.40	40	30.20	50
''	15	29.30	41	30.10	51
''	16	29.10	35	30.10	50

16. It will be observed that the barometrical readings at the pit bank were lower on the morning of the explosion — 16th February — than they had been on any day during the preceding month. The underground readings also were on the same morning at the lowest point reached during the same period. The foregoing table, which is compiled from the readings entered in the Fore-Overman's book, further shows that the temperature, although nearly equable underground, had undergone at the Pit mouth a drop of not less than 5° Fahrenheit from the mean of the ten preceding days. It is worthy of remark that the readings of the thermometer for the 16th February entered in the Meteorological Register kept at Durham University Observatory indicate for that day an exceptionally low minimum temperature as well as an unusual fluctuation. They are as follows :–

			Maximum   Temperature	Minimum   Temperature
	February	7	47.2	38.3
	''	8	40.7	32.1
	''	9	42.1	32.5
	''	10	51.7	37.5
	''	11	42.9	34.3
	''	12	52.0	39.6
	''	13	54.8	40.5
	''	14	45.6	36.0
	''	15	44.3	31.5
Day of explosion	''	16	52.8	39.0
	''	17	53.9	42.0
	''	18	50.8	35.2
	''	19	50.9	34.7

17. In the "Remarks" appended to the official Report of the Meteorological Department, issued at 8.30 on the 16th February, the following significant passage occurs :– "At mid-day the barometer was falling everywhere." The Report, which is given in the Times of February 17th, also contains the following statement :– "The Chart at 6 o'clock this evening (16th) shows that pressure is inclined to recover again in the north, and that the depression, which has apparently become much larger since the morning, is passing away eastwards". Minimum depression 29.2.

It is evident, therefore, that the explosion took place on a day of exceptional and dangerous meteorological conditions.