On September 21 1833 a methane explosion took place in Workington at Low bottom-pit, a joint working of Isabella-pit owned by the Curwen family of Workington Hall and named after Henry Curwen’s daughter, writes Patrick Robertson.
In the explosion, 13 men and boys and several horses died and many other miners were injured.
Three brothers of the Brennan family died, and the subsequent report states that Mrs Brennan, their mother, entered the mine workings shortly after the explosion and brought out the bodies of two of her sons herself.
Her husband was also involved in the explosion and left badly injured. Three of the casualties were 10 years of age.
- Brennan, John, aged 19
- Brennan, Nicholas, aged 12
- Creen, Daniel, aged 16
- Creen, Thomas, aged 18
- Ditchburn, James, aged 10
- Ditchbun, Robert, aged 55
- Donald, James, aged 27
- Higgins, John, aged 33
- Jelly, Andrew, aged 10
- Mulligan, Samuel, aged 22
- Thompson, John, aged 24
- Watson, John, aged 10
Due to water inundation another four lives would be lost in these very same workings in November of that year. They were George Nutter, 23, Joseph Batey, 24, Jonathan Wear, 20, and William Gallantry, 13.
