OCTOBER 22, 1877
More than 200 lives were lost in one of the most devastating colliery accidents in British history.
It started off like any other day at William Dixon & Co, coal and iron masters in High Blantyre, Lanarkshire.
But within a few hours there was an explosion in two of the pits, which killed 207 people, leaving 92 widows and 250 fatherless children. The youngest victim of the disaster was an 11-year-old boy.
At 4.40am four firefighters inspected number two pit and everything was thought to be in working order. At 5.30am, the regular workmen started to descend.
But, just four hours later, a blast was heard on the surface and flames and steam rushed up number three pit for a few minutes. Smoke was seen from the upcast pit and air came from number two.
It was known that there was firedamp in some of the pits and it’s thought it was lit by a naked fame.
It was reported that, six months after the accident, Dixon’s raised summonses against 34 widows whose husbands had been killed and who had not left the tied cottages which they and their husbands had rented from the mining company. They were evicted two weeks later.
Blantyre was also the scene of two further disasters, in 1878 and 1879. There were a succession of lesser fatalities, some, particularly in the earlier years, caused by firedamp.