Trimdon Grange is a village in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, in England. It is situated ten miles to the west of

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

, and a short distance to the north of

Trimdon Trimdon is a village in County Durham, in England, previously known as Tremeldon (1196) or Tremedon (1262).Eilert Ekwall,1959, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames'' (4th edition), OUP, Oxford, p. 480; he cites taxation sources, ...

Colliery disaster

At 14:40 on 16 February 1882 the Trimdon Grange

colliery 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 ...

suffered a major explosion causing the deaths of 69 men and boys. The coroner (TW Snagge) reported to both houses of Parliament: * The mine was a dusty mine and watering should have been daily but it was done "not in all places, but where it was absolutely necessary." * The mine was not "more than ordinarily gassy", but there is some evidence that the identified points of leakage might have been points of accumulation from leaks elsewhere. * The lamps in use were

Davy Davy may refer to: * Davy (given name) * Davy (surname) * Davy lamp, a type of safety lamp with its flame encased inside a mesh screen * Davy, West Virginia, United States, a town * Davy Sound, Greenland * Davy (crater), a crater on the moon ...

pattern and naked lights called "midgies" in some areas. The coroner found no evidence that the midgies were connected with the explosion. * Good order and discipline prevailed in Trimdon Grange Colliery. * The air pressure had been exceptionally low, the lowest it had been that month, falling to on the morning of the explosion. * The roof above the workings in the narrow pit district had been observed to be dangerous. The inquest concluded: The coroner further observed: Not all the men were killed by the explosion and fire. After the explosion the burnt methane (

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 ...

) forms carbon dioxide (then called carbonic acid gas) and carbon monoxide. The resulting mixture is called

afterdamp Afterdamp is the toxic mixture of gases left in a mine following an explosion caused by methane-rich firedamp, which itself can initiate a much larger explosion of coal dust. The term is etymologically and practically related to other terms for un ...

and will suffocate and kill. Indeed, the gas forced its way through a passage into the adjoining

Kelloe Kelloe is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 Census was 1,502. It is situated to the south-east of Durham, England, Durham. History The villag ...

Pit where six men lost their lives from the afterdamp.

"Trimdon Grange Explosion" (1882 song)

The incident was recounted in the song "Trimdon Grange Explosion" by the local collier-

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

Thomas "Tommy" Armstrong. Armstrong performed the song within a few days of the disaster in the local Mechanics' Hall. The lyrics of the song include an accounting of the events that took place, such as: The song also asks the local community to help out in the wake of the incident: The song became known outside of Trimdon Grange and has been recorded by other artists, including

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...

The Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

and

Alan Price Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...

Trimdon Grange Wind Farm

There is a small (5.2 MW) wind farm near the village. Controversy arose in 2004 when the agent of the then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, claimed the location was unsuitable.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/wind-farms-not-on-the-prime-ministers-doorstep-thanks-689504.html

Notable people

George Bradshaw George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 – 6 September 1853) was an English cartographer, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables. Biography Bradshaw was born at Windsor Brid ...

, professional footballer * Albert Brallisford, professional footballer who played for several clubs including Trimdon Grange Colliery between 1930 and 1934. *

Peter Lee (trade unionist) Peter Lee (1864–1935) was a miner's leader, county councillor and Methodist local preacher, born in Trimdon Grange, County Durham. He started working in a colliery at the age of ten. He became the chairman of England's first Labour county counc ...

, (1864–1935). Miner's leader, early Labour county councillor and Methodist local preacher, born in Trimdon Grange.

References and notes

External links

National Archive lesson on life in Trimdon in the 19th century

Trimdon Times
a local on-line newspaper {{authority control Villages in County Durham Coal mines in County Durham 1880 mining disasters 1880 in England Coal mining disasters in England 1882 disasters in the United Kingdom Explosions in 1882