Disaster at Trimdon Grange: What Happened?

PRO Ref: Source 4 - POWE 7/8, Source 5 - COAL 13/111

Durham Record Office Ref: Source 1 - EP/Tr9 and EP/Ke22, Source 2 - Durham Advertiser 24 Feb. 1882, Source 3 - Durham Advertiser 17 Feb. 1882

Pupils may find some of the vocabulary difficult, especially in the Inspector’s Report. Concentrate on the overall meaning first, then tackle individual phrases and finally words. The Background section of this Snapshot provides a short glossary of Victorian mining terms.

Approach the tasks as a mystery to solve. In this Snapshot, information is slowly drip-fed - clues are gradually given. Pupils will have to be observant though. Allow children to form their own hypotheses that they can adapt as more details are found. Encourage pupils to use their knowledge of Victorian Britain to think about the many possible causes of the deaths.

Try to impart some of the tragedy of the unfolding events to the pupils. The death of a breadwinner could have dire consequences in the 19^th Century. The workhouse loomed for mothers who could not find alternative means of supporting their families. Besides, what work could they find in places like Trimdon Grange where mining was the main, if not only, industry?

The survivor’s account finally confirms some of the gruesome details of the disaster. Names are mentioned here and can be cross-referenced with the burial registers and newspaper lists. Although Ralph Winns provides crucial information, as a man caught up in the centre of dramatic events, his account may be less than reliable. Probe pupils for their ideas about how much trust we ought to place in Ralph’s account. What parts might have been exaggerated? Why? Could the newspaper editor have added the gory bits to boost readership?

To round off the Snapshot, a table is provided. Pupils can use it to help them make sense of Source 4: The Inspector’s Report. Here pupils can collect more certain factual information for inclusion in their final piece of written work – a newspaper report. Teachers can distribute a newspaper template to their pupils. The completed work can form part of a class display. Pupils may wish to draw their own illustrations or download some included in this Snapshot.

The Public Record Office would like to thank Durham Record Office for their assistance in the production of this snapshot.

Industrial changes: action and reaction. KS 2