Grade II listed buildings. They are a rare survival of winding-shaft structures modernised in the 1950s by the National Coal Board, and their presence preserves a historical connection to past disasters. Context The Oaks was considered to be one of the most dangerous pits in South Yorkshire and the workers were concerned for their own safety. Large emissions of firedamp were commonplace. Ten years earlier the 400-strong workforce had gone on strike for ten weeks because of alleged management incompetence, but had to resume work when starvation loomed. During a bitter dispute in 1864, blackleg labour was used, and striking miners and their families were evicted from their homes. Gas made men giddy and faint. Men would not take safety lamps near the goaves. According to Tomlinson, the underviewers had written the word "Fire" in chalk in certain places. Parkin Jeffcock, the mining engineer who attended after the explosion, agreed that the fireman had written "Fire" but said that this was not unusual. In a meeting with the management at the beginning of December, the workers complained about an inadequacy in the pit's ventilation. To improve the ventilation and alleviate the problem of gas issuing from the seam, a drift through the rock was blasted from near the pit bottom towards the more remote workings. The drift was expected to be finished that day. A critical aspect to the science of firedamp explosions is the afterdamp, the aftermath mix of gases, which can be equally dangerous, if not more so. Explosion On Wednesday 12 December 1866, 340 men and boys were underground, 131 hewers who cut the coal, hurriers who moved the coal to the shaft bottom, horse-drivers, maintenance staff and trappers, boys who were employed to open and close ventilation doors to allow wagons to pass. At 1:20 pm with less than an hour of the shift remaining, an explosion ripped through the workings. The whole neighbourhood for around shook as if an earthquake had occurred accompanied by a loud roar akin to thunder. Two dense columns of smoke and debris erupted from the downcast shafts. At No.1 pit the blast damaged the winding engine and broke the cage, disconnecting it from its rope. At No.2 pit the cage was blown up into the headgear breaking a coupling. After about five minutes the ventilation resumed and fresh air was drawn back the downcast pits. Rescue attempts, day one Another