THE TIMES, THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1881
FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION
A disastrous boiler explosion occurred last evening at Providence-mill situate midway
between Heckmondwike and Batley, Yorkshire, causing the death of 11 persons and serious
injury to several others. Providence-mill is a woollen factory, and belongs to Messrs.
Graham and Hirst. It occupies four sides of a parallelogram, the chief frontage
being to Carlin How-road. In the mill yard was a boiler-house containing two double-flued
Cornish boilers, and adjoining it was what is known as a tentering-house, in which pieces
of cloth are stretched and dried by steam. The weather being extremely cold, a number of
operatives went into the boiler-house for the sake of the warmth, and while they were inside
one of the boilers exploded. Both the boiler-house and the tentering-house were completely
destroyed by the force of the explosion. The operatives from other departments of the works
rushed to the place and did their best to extricate the wounded and the dead. The noise of
the explosion was heard for some distance round, and the volumes of steam and dust attracted
large crowds. Doctors B. Broughton and Lloyd, of Heckmondwike, who happened to be near at
the time, rendered valuable assistance. Some of those injured were taken to the Cottage
Hospital at Batley, and others were removed to their own homes. The following is a list of
the killed so far as could be ascertained last night, but the darkness and the absence of
relatives prevented some of the bodies from being identified:- Jim Ward, 45, labourer,
Batley, wife and five children; Amelia Gledhill, 25, weaver, White Lea; Joseph Ellis, 50,
weaver, Batley; Mary Gledhill, 17, weaver, Bruntcliffe Morley; Henry Gledhill, 14, brother
of the above; Mary Ellen Denison, 17, weaver, Batley; James Ward, 47, White Lea, married,
several children. The wounded are 16 in number. The following are most severely injured
- viz., James Beecroft, engine-tenter; George Hirst, son of the proprietor of the works;
Charles Teale, Arthur Swales, and Seth Broadhead.
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