Felling mine disaster was one of the first major mine disasters in Britain, claiming 92 lives on 25 May 1812. May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The colliery was situated between Wallsend and Jarrow in what used to be County Durham, now South Tyneside and had two shafts aboout 600 feet deep. It was extended in 1810 by the opening up of a new coal seam, the Low Main seam, and it was here that the explosion which engulfed the pit occurred. As with so many other coal mine disasters, the accident was caused by ignition of firedamp (methane) which then triggered a coal dust explosion. The explosion travelled through the galleries and ended by erupting from one of the shafts. At that time, lighting in the pits was hazardous. Open flame lamps could easily ignite the gas, so steel mills were often used to provide weak illumination, but these too could set off a gas explosion. The alternative was to deliberately destroy gas accumulations in a dangerous operation conducted by a "monk", actually a foolhardy miner shrouded in a wet blanket who poked a candle on a long pole into gas pockets. His life must have been short, but probably well paid when successful. Wallsend is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. ... Map sources for Jarrow at grid reference NZ3465 Jarrow is a town on the River Tyne, England with a population around 27,000 (2001 Census). ... County Durham is a county in north-east England. ... Firedamp is a flammable gas found in coal mines. ...

The disaster became famous because it stimulated an unknown engineer (George Stephenson) and an eminent scientist (Humphrey Davy) to develop "safe" lamps for colliers. The Davy lamp used fine gauze to prevent the gas flame reach the surroundings. The Geordie lamp provided the flame with air fed through narrow tubes, down which a flame could not move. The disaster is thus remembered for stimulating inventive minds to tackle the problem. Unfortunately, it did not prevent further disasters because there were other sources of ignition, such as sparks from metal tools and later, electrical equipment and explosives used to blast tunnels. Moreover, both of the lamps could set off explosions if the gauze rusted through (very likely in the wet environment of a pit), or the glass on the Geordie fractured. Later devices such as the Mueseler lamp were better protected, but all such lamps gave very poor illumination. It was not until electric safe lamps were introduced at the end of the Victorian period that miners had adequate and safe lights. George Stephenson Statue of George Stephenson at the National Railway Museum, York George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British engineer who designed a famous and historically important steam-powered locomotive named Rocket, and is known as the Father of British Steam Railways. ... Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy (December 17, 1778 - May 29, 1829), often incorrectly spelled Humphrey, was an Cornish chemist. ... The Davy lamp is a safety lamp devised in 1815 by Humphry Davy. ... The Geordie lamp was invented by George Stephenson in 1815 as a solution to explosions due to firedamp in coal mines. ...

References

• Helen and Baron Duckham, Great Pit Disasters: Great Britain 1700 to the present day, David & Charles (1973)