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Woodhorn Colliery: Safety Lamp
In the early 19th century, three men were working to invent the first safe means of lighting coalmines. They were Dr
William Clanny, Sir Humphrey Davy, and George Stephenson. There is some dispute as to who was the first to invent the
safety lamp but all were working with some knowledge of each other's work.
This type of safety lamp was used in the early 20th century, probably around 1910. It was used to detect gas as well
as to provide light. Before the safety lamp was introduced to coalmines, in the early 1800s, miners used tallow
candles to see by. This was risky because the workings of some mines produced a lot of gas, known as firedamp.
Without adequate ventilation gas can build up and if exposed to a naked flame can cause a violent explosion. A gas
explosion was the cause of the Woodhorn Disaster in 1916. Today, coalmines use
more sophisticated equipment to detect gas and lighting is electric.
You can find out more about the inventors using the following links to open a new window:
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