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The Maypole Colliery disaster was a
Many of the victims of the disaster were buried at St John the Evangelist's Church, Abram. A memorial to the men who died was erected in the churchyard. The memorial was rededicated on the centenary of the disaster in 2008.
mining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. C ...
on 18 August 1908, when an underground explosion occurred at the Maypole Colliery, in Abram
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
, near Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
, then in the historic county of Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, in North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
. The final death toll was 76.
Background
The colliery was on theLancashire Coalfield
The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.
The Romans may have been the fir ...
which contained numerous coal mines. Maypole Colliery was owned by the Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company Ltd which had taken over the pit from the Moss Hall Coal Company in 1907. The miners were mainly drawn from the local area but also included a large number of workers who had moved to the area from County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
in Ireland.
Explosion
An explosion occurred just after 5pm in No 1 Pit, shortly after the night shift began. Most of the men below ground at the time were shot-firers and maintenance workers. The explosion happened in the area known as the Four Feet mine. Colliery manager Arthur Rushton reported that when some distance away he heard a rumble and saw a cloud of dust rising from the pit shaft. The head gear was largely destroyed and the fan house, which provided ventilation, was badly damaged. Rescue parties were organised immediately and led by the general manager John Knowles. After two days, attempts to locate survivors and recover bodies were abandoned when fire broke out underground. The pit was flooded to quell the fire. The last bodies were not recovered until 1917. It was initially reported that 75 men had been working in the pit at the time. Three survivors were working in the Seven Feet mine, a differentcoal seam
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
, not the Four Feet mine where the explosion occurred.
Aftermath
King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
sent a telegram expressing his sympathy towards those who suffered as a result of the disaster.
The inquests started three days after the explosion, but were adjourned as more bodies were recovered and were not completed until 8 July the following year. Accidental death verdicts were recorded on all 76 victims. The colliery owners argued that there had been no gas in the pit despite gas having been reported on the day before the explosion. The coroner concluded that the cause of death had been an explosion of firedamp
Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...
and coal dust ignited by permitted explosives.
Memorials
Many of the victims of the disaster were buried at St John the Evangelist's Church, Abram. A memorial to the men who died was erected in the churchyard. The memorial was rededicated on the centenary of the disaster in 2008.
See also
List of mining disasters in Lancashire
This is a list of mining accidents in the historic county of Lancashire at which five or more people were killed. Mining deaths have occurred wherever coal has been mined across the Lancashire Coalfield. The earliest deaths were recorded in par ...
References
Notes Citations {{coord, 53.5096, -2.5938, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Coal mines in Lancashire 1908 in England 1908 mining disasters Coal mining disasters in England 1900s in Lancashire