According to some reports in 1869 the miners complained about the safety conditions underground, but Andrew Knowles and Sons refused to concede and a strike began.

Cutler (2018) cites newspaper reports from 1866 indicating discontent with the management due to the banning of a trades union.

The Wigan Observer (quoted by Cutler) reported the ejection of locked out miners in 1866 and their replacement by "200 men from Cornwall and 300 from Staffordshire" brought by the company along with "about twice as many" who came "at their own expense".

Above it is around 6 feet of "white metal" a rock forming a fair roof, and above that some low grade coal which was not worked.

[11] The mine was worked by driving headings east and west to the limit of the colliery and then the coal was extracted on a retreating wall basis.

[10] In the goaf the roof broke away from the Trencherbone rock resulting in voids forming above the low grade coal.

Officially no pipe or tobacco were meant to be present when naked lights were prohibited (rule 33), but in practice the men had them in their pockets, along with matches, prior to the second visit.

[16] The certified manager (Jonathan Hall) only had experience of the Davy and Clanny but admitted that he was aware of safer and brighter lamps.

Higson's report (read into the record of the inquiry by the coroner) explains that the explosion must have originated at the extremity of number 2 East level.

At the time of the explosion a crack in the overburden opened up and the gas escaped to where men were working at the end of number 2 East.

The ten men in number 3 East were initially trapped by the after-damp, but after 13 hours were able to escape and reach the pit bottom.

[27][28][29] The official report includes the minutes of proceedings and the title thereof mentions 178 men and boys as being killed, however the contents only list 177 names.

[12] The ten men who were working in number 3 East were aware of the explosion when a "rush of wind" put out their candles and most of the lamps.

Travis, his brother and another man walked the 700 yards (640 m) to the "engine brow" (central roadway of the mine) and found there a "lot of foul air" and so returned to the far end.

[31] The other four men were later brought to the surface by a team led by John Crook, the manager of the connected Agecroft Colliery.

After a brief discussion with Simon Horrocks (the agent for Andrew Knowles and Sons) set off back by horse and cart to his own colliery.

He asked for volunteers, and led a team of about 18 men down the Agecroft, along the "travelling way" (tunnel) into Clifton Hall Colliery.

Crook reached the pit bottom and met Thomas Worrall (underlooker in the Dow mine) and together put out the furnace to reduce the chance of a second explosion.

As is normal in England the coroner's inquest into the deaths was opened for evidence of identity and to permit the funerals to take place, and then adjourned before the main proceedings.

The jury had been asked to rule on the use of naked lights and in their fourth verdict declined to express any opinion, but did recommend an inquiry by "skilful and experienced persons be appointed for the purpose by the Government".

The sixth and final verdict was to recommend the appointment of additional Inspectors of Mines in order to increase the frequency of inspection.

[37] A juryman then asked that the thanks of the court be given to the explorers, specifically Worrall, Crook and a man named Issac Johnson.

[38] Questions about the inquest were raised in the House of Commons on 21 July, but the Secretary of State for the Home Department declined to comment further until the official government report was in.

[40] Morley drew attention to the question the coroner put and the jury's finding of "no person is either criminally or censurably to blame".