BURRADON
Burradon, Durham. 2nd March, 1860.
Those who lost their lives:-
- George Maddex who left a wife and six children.
- John Maddex Jnr., nephew of George who left a wife and three or four children.
- Thomas Maddex, single. Brother of James and John.
- James Maddex, single.
- John Maddex, single.
- Edward Dryden left a wife and child.
- John Carr left a wife and seven children.
- Samuel Carr, son of John.
- Thomas Lawson, single.
- William Wilkie, left a wife and four or five children.
- Thomas Wilkie, putter, single, son of William.
- James Brown, left a wife and two children.
- Thomas Wilkinson left a wife and family.
- Thomas Thompson left a wife and two children.
- William Turner left a wife and one or two children.
- William Urwin left a wife and four children.
- Thomas Beadlen, single, cousin of John.
- John Beadlen, single.
- Thomas Dawson, single.
- Robert Soulsby left a wife and three or four children.
- William Donelly left a wife and family.
- Joseph Vougha, single.
- David Addy, Snr.
- David Addy Jnr.
- John Addy, father and two sons.
- Robert Leitham, nephew of D Addy, wife and large family. This was his first day in thepit.
- John McWilliams left a wife and three children.
- John Fittes, single.
- Robert Kyle, single.
- John Amor, married.
- Ralph Heron, widower.
- John Pease wife and two children.
- John Pease son of John.
- John Thrift, putter.
- George Thrift, putter.
- Alfred Allen, single.
- John Carr, single.
- George Fisher, wife and three children.
- Martin Sankey, married three months before.
- An unknown stranger.
- Matthew Mordue, single.
- William Nichol, single.
- David Phillips, single brother of Thomas.
- Thomas Phillips, single.
- Matthew Hepplewhite, single.
- James Nichol, single.
- Andrew Messer, recently married.
- Matthew Cleghorn, single. His first day in the pit.
- Moses Thompson, only a boy.
- James Brown. His first day in the pit.
- Jacob Weatherley, only a boy.
- Thomas Grey, only a boy.
- William Cook, only a boy.
- Thomas Golightly, only a boy brother of Ritson.
- Ritson Golightly, only a boy.
- Joseph Musgrove, only a boy.
- John Marshall, brother of Thomas. Mother widowed.
- Thomas Marshall.
- William Alderson, back overman with a wife and five children.
- Benjamin Nicholson, deputy overman, wife and large family.
- John Dewery, deputy overman, wife and large family.
- Henry Johnson, putter.
- Isaac Johnson, single.
- John Hetherington, only a boy.
- Isaac Wilson, single.
- John Jervis, single.
- John Frier, single.
- George Shotton, left a wife and two children.
- John Gallon, putter.
- William Doxford, putter.
- John Copeland, only a boy.
- Francis Smith, single.
- George Schimpf, left a wife and two or three children.
- Edward Thompson, only a boy.
- George Whips, wife and family.
The explosion on the 2nd March caused the deaths of 76 persons, some burnt, some by the afterdamp and some by falls of roof caused by the explosion.
Mathias Dunn commented-
“No wonder that so dreadful an event should interest the country in a remarkable manner, so that the inquiry continued irregularly over 12 days numerous viewers and other witnesses were examined and also the following law-men were more or less engaged in the inquiry, viz.- for the owners, R.P. Philipson, Solicitor, for the Inspector, Mr. Dunn W.L. Harle, Solicitor, for the workmen Mr. Blackwell and Mr
Sergeant Ballantyne, Barristers and Mr. Roberts and Mr. Longstaff, Solicitors.”
During the course of the inquiry there were many recriminations and there were objections to Mr. Dunn reading the reports of his visits to the colliery prior to the disaster relating to the ventilation, his opinions of it’s cause and his suggestions for the future of the colliery.
Mr. Dunn commented-
“In the course of the examinations much recrimination was introduced, and especially upon my proposing to read a report explanatory of my visits to the colliery some months antecedently and especially explanatory on the condition of the ventilation at the period of the explosion, and of my opinions as to the causes, with suggestions for the future. My object was first to give a collective narrative upon which I could be examined the better to enable the jury to appreciate the subject.”
Mr. Dunn produced a document that included his observations on the system of ventilation at the colliery and his opinions as to the cause and suggestions for the future so that the jury might have the information before the inquiry.
The document had been circulated before the inquiry and at the inquiry objection to the document was made by Mr. R.P. Philipson, the solicitor who represented the owners of the colliery. The coroner Mr. Stephen Reed upheld the objection even though the document was in circulation.
The document was presented by Mr. Dunn in his Report when he found, after inspection, that the colliery was in a satisfactory condition in July 1858. This continued until December 1858 when he went down at the request of the men. He suggested that the ventilation system of the colliery should be altered and gave great detail of how this should be done.
Mr. Dunn’s journal again-
“July 21st, 1860.
The air was this day changed on to the above system by Maddison Fryer and others, being precisely and substantially the same as recommended by me upon
April the 10th, but rejected up to the present time.”
On making measurements of the quantity of ventilation passing through the mine, with
Mr. Atkinson, the Inspector for South Durham and others, they found that there was far less air passing through the mine than was alleged by Mr. Johnson at the inquest.
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