from the Preston Chronicle, Saturday 21 November 1846
EXPLOSION OF FIRE DAMP AT OLDSBURY – NINETEEN LIVES LOST.-At an early hour on Tuesday morning last, another of those mining explosions which have of late been of such frequent occurrence and attended with such fatal results, took place at Rounds' Green New Colliery, situate at Newberry-lane, near Oldbury, about five miles from this town. The facts connected with this awful calamity may be briefly stated. It appears that between 5 and 6 o'clock of the morning in question some of the men at work in the mine descended into the pit. They were accompanied by the manager and the "doggy," followed by others – in all 25 men and boys. It was the business of the person employed under the manager to ascertain the state of the atmosphere; but whether he did so or not on this occasion does not appear. A short time after the descent of the men, the manager (Mr. Holland), discovered that some parts of the mine were filled with sulphur, and he cautioned his son not to proceed further in the direction in which the mine "rose." The young man, at that moment, turned into a new gate "road" apart from the infected atmosphere. In less than three minutes afterwards he was startled by the report of an explosion, which, according to his own words, deprived him of his hearing, the candle he held in his hand was extinguished, and he was left in total darkness. So powerful, too, was the effect of the vapour, that he with difficulty preserved himself from suffocation. After a few minutes he succeeded in groping his way to the shaft of the pit. Assistance was also rendered from the surface as speedily as possible, and on examining the mine the scene which presented itself was appalling. Bodies blackened and burnt were scattered about in all directions, 16 were immediately removed up the shaft dead, three died within an hour afterwards, and another is not expected to survive. The consternation which this sad accident has created in the neighbourhood it is needless to describe. Parents are left childless, and children rendered orphans. An accident so fatal as this may lead to some further inquiry, as to whether the most effectual means are in existence to prevent their recurrence, and whether those means are efficiently carried out. An inquest upon the bodies of four of the unfortunate men was held on Wednesday, before Mr. George Hinchliffe, coroner, at the Talbot Inn, Oldbury. A most respectable jury was impanelled, and deep interest was excited in the proceedings. The inquiry was adjourned.
