| The Washington Glebe Pit |
| A Brief History |
| by Audrey Fletcher |
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| The Washington Glebe Colliery |
| Introduction In 1901 work began on sinking shafts at the Glebe Colliery, Washington to reach the Harvey Seam at a depth of 720 feet. The mine was opened three years later in 1904 and the first coal taken out in 1905. At this time the Washington Coal Company Ltd. owned the mine. The 1908 Mining Disaster On Thursday 20th February 1908 there was a great mining disaster at the Glebe Pit in which fourteen men lost their lives. They were crushed and burned to death after a fire damp explosion. The only survivor of the disaster was the pump man, Yeardsley. Among the dead were James Wake (42), John Ambrose Maddon (49), Robert Cowan (45), and Thomas Agar Errington (18), all of Washington. |
| Twenty-two thousand mourners formed a cortege to pay their last respects to James Wake, John Ambrose Maddon, Robert Cowan and Thomas Agar Errington as they made their final journey to the Washington Village Cemetery. |
| James William Wake 21 Middlefield Row |
| Robert Cowan 35 Glen Terrace |
| Twenty-two thousand mourners formed a cortege to pay their last respects |
| The Washington Village Cemetery |
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| Thomas Agar Errington 3 Home View |
| Jim Wilson, a pitman from the Glebe Colliery, provided this description of the cause of the explosion: |
| “The Glebe Disaster was a coal dust and firedamp explosion caused by shotfiring. The shot hole had been over charged. During shotfiring there is always a flame given off but there is what is called the lag time. Any substance before it ignites, needs to be heated up, and it is the period between being cold and igniting which is the lag time. Firedamp (a mixture of methane and air) will explode if there are sufficient quantities of methane present, anywhere between 5% and 15%. The initial fire damp explosion at the Glebe Pit caused a coal dust explosion that is much more violent; it can travel at 1000mph. The preceding wind goes ahead of the explosion, kicking the dust up, and feeding it till its source of fuel is exhausted. After this the great danger is carbon monoxide. That’s why canaries are taken underground, they are about six times more susceptible to carbon monoxide than a human being is, so if they fall off the perch its time to withdraw to fresher air.” |
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| The other ten miners who were killed in the explosion were: Edward Ashman (41) who was buried at Houghton Cemetery. Thomas Applegarth (33) and William Glendinning (32) who were both buried at the Churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin, Sherburn, Charles Chivers (25) John Clark (29) John Dixon (42) Thomas McNally (48) Harry Oswald (35) William Henry Rollin (30) Alfred Wood (50) |
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| Edward Ashman 23 Middlefield Row |
| Charles Chivers 4 Middleham Street |
| John Clark 19 Hawk Street |
| Thomas Applegarth 11 Middlefield Row |
| William Glendinning 17 Middlefield Row |
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| Harry Oswald 13 Bell Street |
| Thomas McNally 32 Glen Terrace |
| John Dixon 11 Beech Street |
| William Henry Rollin 17 Nelson Street |
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| Mines Inspectors gave this description of the Washington Glebe Pit after the 1908 Disaster |
| The damaged up-cast shaft after the 1908 explosion at the Glebe Pit. |
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| The Closure of the Glebe Pit Until 1960 there were four main seams worked at the Glebe Pit: Main Coal, Maudlin, Low Main, Hutton. However by 1971 there were only the Maudlin and Hutton in production, and in 1972 the Maudlin seam was exhausted. The mine was closed on 4th August 1972, leaving many miners with an uncertain future. |
| Jim Wilson observed that the closure of the Glebe Pit coincided with the birth of the Washington New Town. Some miners transferred to the coastal pits of Wearmouth and Westoe, while others found jobs in the new industries moving into Washington. |
| When the Washington Glebe Pit was demolished, it heralded the end of an era in Washington's social history. |
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Washington "Glebe" Colliery, usually known as the Glebe Pit, was established only four years ago, the shafts being sunk through the surface deposits by the freezing process, and is one of two collieries, the other and much older colliery being known as the F. Pit, owned by the Washington Coal Co., Ltd. There are two shafts at the Glebe Pit both sunk to the Low Main seam at a depth of 114 fathoms, passing through the Main Coal seam at 94 fathoms and the Maudlin seam at 104 fathoms. The downcast and principal coal drawing shaft is 14 feet diameter, and is traversed by two cages between the surface and the Maudlin seam; from the Maudlin seam to the Low Main seam, 10 fathoms below, it is fitted with ladders. The upcast shaft, surmounted by a fan, is 12 feet diameter, and a single cage, with wire rope guides, runs in it between the surface and the Low Main seam, by means of which the coal was raised from that seam and the workmen passed to and from their work. The top of the upcast shaft, above the level of the fan drift, is enclosed by a square wooden erection carried up nearly to the pulley and closed at the top except for a hole through which the winding rope, worked; a door in this erection on the ground level afforded access to the cage. Added on to this enclosure is a wooden porch, entered by an outer door, in which the banksman works and where persons stand preparatory to descending the shaft. Mines Inspectors Report into the 1908 Explosion |
| John Ambrose Maddon 15 Derwent Terrace |
| pit |
The Miners Grievances (an excerpt) by an unknown poet No more in their mines we will work without air, For to have ventilation we'll make it our care. Two shafts they make sink for the down and up cast, To prevent the hydrogen from making a blast. The gas may ignite in the mine when we're under, And cause subterranean lighting and thunder. The choke damp it spares none that's left in the mine. These things often happen in Tees, Wear and Tyne. |
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| Alfred Wood 9 Margaret Street |
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| The scene of the Washington Glebe Pit explosion Photograph courtesy of Jim Wilson |
| The Glebe Pit |
| Memorial Verses on the Glebe Colliery Disaster |
| Best viewed on a 15 inch screen |
| Best viewed on a 15 inch screen |
| The Wake Family |
| The following information and family photograph was emailed to me by John Wake, a great-grandson of James William Wake, who was killed in the 1908 explosion at the Washington Glebe Pit. He was a Miner Stoneman. James William Wake was also known as James William Bowman, after his mother Dorothy married David Bowman in the 1870's. On the 1881 Census, when he was 15 years old, he is referred to as James Bowman, but he changed back to his birth name at a later date. James William Swan Wake was born in Ocean Street, Westoe on 16th February 1866. He married Sarah Swinburne on 6th July 1885 at South Shields. They had eleven children. |
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| The Wake Family about 1907 |
| James William Swan Wake is seated on the chair at the far right of the picture. Sitting on the floor to his right, dressed in a sailor suit, is Thomas Wake, who was born in 1901. Thomas Wake is the grandfather of John Wake, who supplied this photograph. Centre back is Margaret Wake, who in the 1960s was referred to as "old Mrs. Porter". She lived at 18 The Terraces, Washington, until she died in 1968. After my wedding ceremony in February 1968 I returned to see her. She was lying very ill upstairs in bed, and I gave her my wedding bouquet. Her daughter Emily was like a second mother to me. Audrey Fletcher |
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| The headstone of James William Wake at the Washington Village Cemetery |
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