Carlisle Spedding was one of the first mining engineers to experiment with using gunpowder underground.

He first used “black powder” in the sinking of Saltom pit in1731. Miners drilled holes using a hammer and chisel. They filled the holes with powder and lit short hollow fuses – then took cover!

This work was dangerous and required skill and confidence. “Black Powder” contained Saltpeter, Charcoal and Sulphur. It cannot be a coincidence that as Spedding gained experience in this new field, the demand for underground blasting grew.

In 1764 Cumbria developed into major supplier of black blasting powder for the whole country. Old Sedgwick, near Kendal, was the earliest gunpowder works in the area. It supplied the mines and quarries of  North England with blasting powder.   So did Spedding's use of explosives 33 years before influence Cumbria’s “gunpowder” role?

Where Spedding gained his knowledge of blasting is unclear. Was it during his time at sea? Was it working undercover in the Northumblerland mines?

What is clear is that Spedding was always willing to try new methods. Methods that meant coal could be mined faster than ever before.