The Lundhill Colliery explosion was a coal mining accident which took place on 19 February 1857 in Wombwell, Yorkshire, UK in which 189 men and boys aged between 10 and 59 died.

[2] The colliery had quickly become one of the largest and deepest pits in Yorkshire which meant that a lot of people worked at the mine.

The workers would descend to the mine in a cage and their equipment consisted of safety boots which were mostly too big, a helmet and a little wax candle for lighting.

[4] On the morning of 19 February 1857, around 220 miners ranging from 10 to 59 years old descended the colliery to begin their shifts.

The blast sent an enormous sheet of flame up through the pit shaft and illuminated and shook the countryside for miles around.

[5] It is believed that a large number of men were killed instantly by the explosion or by the roof of the mine caving in.

The damage to the upper parts of the mine was devastating too; doors were shattered, the roof had collapsed, the furnace and its arches lay in ruins, the stables were on fire and the solid coal in shaft three had ignited and sent masses of burning coals down the side which spread the fire.

The biggest danger was that the safety lamps showed combustible gas within a short distance; these gasses were firedamp and afterdamp mixed with the black smoke emerging from the shafts.

[5] The mine was now ablaze and despite the serious potential for a second explosion, a group of rescue workers, mostly consisting of volunteers, tried to descend down shaft two.

The scene created such interest that huge crowds, estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000 people, arrived at the site to look at the mourners and watch the flames still spiralling out of the pit.

This tactic seemed to work as the flames died down, but thick black smoke still arose from the third shaft as it was left open.

It was later determined that most men died in the explosion, but that a large number of the victims were also killed by suffocation by afterdamp.

The nation's grief was so intense that a special disaster fund was set up with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert making substantial donations.