The Londonderry Colliery (Rainton)
Rainton Plain Pit disaster Monday 3rd November 1823
as recorded in a newspaper of the day
On the morning of November 3rd 1823 about half past 5 o clock a shocking accident occurred at the Rainton colliery near Houghton le spring. It is a very old colliery and nearly worked out the men were busy at the time of the accident and were working away the pillars, which had been left to support the mine.
About 6 years since the same pit fired and 28 human beings lost their lives by suffocation in endeavouring to save the lives of some sufferers on that occasion.
On the morning in question there were upwards of 100 men working in the pit about ½ hour before the accident happened, some of the men perceived their davey lamps becoming hot and in a very short time they could not hold them in their hands, and therefore prudently left their work, and came out of the pit, and brought with them some of the wagon boys. On the first alarm of fire about 20 more were brought up before the blast of fire reached the shaft. The fire commenced in the remotest part of the pit, where they were done working and had left it to close together. It rushed along the working with the most terrific noise towards the shaft breaking and destroying everything, which came its way till it reached the shaft where it exploded in to the open air. Thus perished 53 individuals men and boys and 12 horses, four of the men who were working in some of the remote parts of the pit were not gone Tuesday night. The families which, suffered have left are numerous and for the most part are helpless. In some cases there are 2 and 3 in a family killed. As soon as the blast of fire was over the survivors who are always ready on such occasions to do anything to the utmost of their endeavours to save their fellow workmen, went down and brought up some who were very several burnt and 4 of them are not expected to recover. They brought up some who were not burnt, but to all appearance dead by sulphur and some of them were brought to life again among them was a very little boy who described that he heard a violent rushing of wind and he lay down behind the door which he was watching and it was blown down on top of him, which saved his life and from being burnt, he got up and ran towards the shaft, but the sulphur overpowered him and he fell down to a sound sleep.
It is something singular that a man was found at his work in one of the wastes, 3 hours after the pit had fired and not a idea that the pit had fired. Six horses were also found alive and 2 of them were standing attached to the wagon, which had been drawing at the time of the explosion and a horse on each side of them laid dead.
There is no settled opinion how this dreadful catastrophe originated but some of the workmen think the foul air had come from some of the waste and the men’s lamps became red hot they had thrown them down and the oil had got to the outside of the lamps and so cause the explosion. Their bodies were almost immediately borne away by their relations as soon as brought to bank; it is not easy to ascertain their names the following are all we have been able to procure.
The following are the names we know at present.
Thomas Crake who left a wife and 4 children
John Padley a wife and 4 children
Christopher smith a wife and 5 children
Thomas Blackburn the same
John Welsh a wife and 4 children
Wardle Elliott a wife
2 Harrison boys
Henry Dinning a wife and 6 or 7 children
George Elliott a wife and 8 children and a son who is not expected to live
Robert Gibson a wife and 3 or 4 children
His son John Gibson
James and Robert Shields brothers each a wife
John Handy and his son a wife and 3 or 4 children
The 3 Johnson boys
Richard Carr and Thomas Carr both brothers
Cuthbert Pratt
Thomas Dawson a family
William Dawson – overman, his brother and wife (the brother in-law of George Elliot)
John Wail and 2 sons a wife and children
William Hutchinson a wife and 5 children
Michael Dial a wife and 5 or 6 children
John Roridam a wife and 4 or 5 children
Mich Thompson and John Anderson boys
Edward Ramshaw
2 Shorts, Adam and William
2 Fosters
Turnbul
George Armstrong the inspector of the davey lamps
it must be noted the number of children in a family seems to be vague