At 2 am on the morning of Monday 27 February 1871 two people, a man and a boy were working in Carr House Colliery, situated about a mile from the town of Rotherham. The man was called William Hague and the boy (who was not a relation) was called Thomas Hague aged just twelve. Although William had worked at the colliery for many years, he had just a week earlier been appointed as deputy and one of his first jobs was as a ‘fire trier.’ As unbelievable as this may sound, it involved testing for fire damp with a naked flame instead of using a safety lamp.

That morning the pair had covered much of the colliery workings quite safely, until they arrived at a place which was about 1,100 yards from the shaft bottom. That was where the flame of the candle came in contact with the fire damp resulting in a great explosion, which was so fierce that both man and boy were dashed to the ground. William, himself badly burned, took one look at the boy and knew immediately that he was dead. Despite his own terrible terrible injuries, he managed to crawl to the shaft bottom and climbed inside the cage before signalling for it to be raised. When William reached the top, his dreadfully scorched and burnt condition spoke for itself.

He told a colliery steward and two other miners about Thomas’s injuries and they accompanied him below to look for the body. When they arrived at the place where the explosion had occurred they found Thomas. Thankfully his body bore distinctive evidence that he had died instantly. He was conveyed to the surface and a surgeon, Mr Bernard Walker of Masborough was instantly dispatched to the scene. He ordered the injured man and the deceased boy to be conveyed to Greasborough where an inquest had been quickly arranged. It was held at the Prince of Wales Hotel the following day at 5 pm. Coroner Mr J Webster opened the inquest before the jury went to view the body of the young boy.

When they returned, the coroner told the inquest that it would be at least six weeks before William Hague would be well enough to give his own account of the accident. Accordingly, he adjourned the enquiry until Tuesday 11 April. When the inquest reconvened, also in attendance was Mr Wardell, the Government Inspector of Mines. The first witness was the surgeon Mr Walker and he told the inquest that Thomas’s remains indicated that although there was no external injuries to his body, the inside of his mouth was badly burned. He therefore concluded that the child had died from suffocation.

The surgeon also told the inquest that William Hague was thankfully now out of danger and could give his own testimony. Mr Webster reminded William that he had been charged with causing the death of Thomas Hague by his neglect of the colliery rules and regulations. So if he chose to give evidence it might be used against him if he was found guilty of manslaughter by the magistrates enquiry which was to follow. Nevertheless William chose to give his evidence. It was very clear that the poor man was still very weak from his injuries and was allowed a chair to sit in whilst he described what had happened.

William told the inquest that he had initially gone down the mine with a safety lamp, but had left it at some place before going forward with a naked candle. When Mr Wardell, asked him why he had taken a candle into the pit, the witness told him that it gave a better light than the safety lamps in the air holes. He said that the area where the explosion occurred had been for a long time unused and it had consequently been standing empty for some time. However William added, that he had been there scores of times before with a candle and nothing had ever happened before. He claimed that it had always been safe and concluded:

‘I knew I was doing wrong, but I went into the heading thinking it was as safe as this room. I have been there scores of times with a naked light. There was not much gas in the pit, I knew as I had worked there for thirteen years.’

The underground manager of the colliery, Mr John Mort next gave his testimony and told the coroner that on the morning of the 27 February the prisoner informed him of the death of young Thomas. He said that William had openly told him about his use of the naked flame and added that ‘it was a bad job’. The witness said that he had cautioned the prisoner just the night before to ‘be careful and to mind what he was doing.’ George Milner, an engine tenter stated that he had let two miners James Bonser and Joseph Sanderson go down the pit in the cage to the shaft bottom which he operated. Almost unbelievably he admitted that two women also went down with them on that occasion.

At this, Mr Wardell asked Milner if he knew that it was against the colliery rules to allow women into the pit, but the witness simply prevaricated and said that he let them go down sometimes! Mr Webster shook his head in disbelief, as he then called for James Bonser to give his evidence. This witness readily admitted that on the Sunday before the explosion occurred, he had indeed gone down in the cage with his wife and another woman he did not know. When Mr Wardell challenged him as to the rules of the colliery, Bonser told him that he did not know the rules as he had never learned to read.

After some desultory conversation between the coroner, the Government Inspector and Mr Mort the jury returned the following verdict:

‘We find that Thomas Hague was killed by an explosion of gas in the Carr House Colliery on 27 February 1871, and we are of the opinion that there is gross mismanagement in that colliery’.

As a sequel to this tragedy, on Thursday 27 April 1871, five men were brought back before the Rotherham Magistrates. William Hague was fined 40s for violating the rules about the use of a naked flame. James Bonser and Joseph Sanderson were each fined 20s for taking females into the pit and George Milner was fined 40s and costs. William Needham, who had not worked at the pit for as long as the others was fined just 1s and costs and all the prisoners were warned as to their future behaviour.