Abercwmboi Colliery Explosion, 1870

On the night of 8 October 1870 an explosion of firedamp at the ventilating furnace of Abercwmboi (then Abercwmboy) Colliery, Aberdare, killed the overman James Davies and four other men. Gas had been found in the north return about midnight and the two fluemen were found asleep with the furnace fire nearly out; the officials chose to let the fire burn up rather than draw it, and a quarter of an hour after they went towards the Six Feet the pit fired. The coroner's jury at the Boot Hotel, Aberdare, found the fluemen very culpable for letting the fire go so low, a verdict amounting to accidental death.

Cause

An accumulation of firedamp, which had been oozing from the north return airway on a falling barometer, reached the ventilating furnace; the under-viewer concluded the explosion took place at the flue, since the men found in No. 2 heading were not burnt, a piece of canvas was found burning near the flue and the lamps were found locked.

Contributing factors

The two fluemen were asleep and the furnace nearly out, so the ventilation fell as gas came off; the officials propped the separation doors between intake and return open with bricks to dilute the gas and decided to wait for the fire to burn up rather than draw it; the jury also found that closing the doors had been a mistake.

What happened

The pit was on its night turn. About twelve o'clock the overman James Davies asked the timberman Thomas Thomas to come to the south side, having found gas in the north return. They found none in the old flue heading, sent the water-fillers John Lloyd and a boy back to the main level, and at No. 2 cross-heading found a good deal of gas coming out of the north return. Davies went up to the furnace and came back to say the heading was nearly clear but the flue was nearly out and the fluemen fast asleep; he sent for the fireman John Howells and the other overman, Adams. Howells went to the flue, reported it very low but the place free of gas, and when Thomas asked whether he would take the fire out answered no, that as soon as it burned up all would be right again. A quarter of an hour later the two came back to say everything would be right in half an hour, talked of going down to the Six Feet, and were not seen alive again; about a quarter of an hour after that the explosion came. A fourteen-year-old haulier and his eleven-year-old brother, a door boy, both asleep after their midnight meal, were knocked insensible but survived. Henry Gingell lived long enough to tell his wife that he had fallen asleep at the flue.

Rescue & recovery

The inquest reports read do not describe the recovery of the bodies; Thomas Thomas and six others sitting out their spell were unhurt.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest before George Overton, coroner, sat at the Boot Hotel, Aberdare, with Mr Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines, David Davis for the proprietors, the manager Mr Bedlington and Charles H. James, solicitor, for the owners. William Thomas, the company's mineral surveyor, produced a plan of the workings but was not familiar with them; the coroner criticised the keeping of the barometer register. Jenkin Meredith, under-viewer, put the explosion at the flue, blaming neglect there and the sudden drop of the barometer. The jury found that the explosion was occasioned by gas coming into contact with the flue, that the fluemen were very culpable in allowing the fire to go so low, and that it was a mistake to close the doors, which in effect amounted to accidental death.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

No prosecution is recorded in the sources read. The colliery replaced its furnace with a 40-foot Waddle fan in 1874.

Changes to practice & legislation

None specific to this explosion has been found; the replacement of furnace ventilation by a Waddle fan four years later removed the hazard that caused it.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial has been located.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Five men were killed: James Davies (31, overman), Thomas Evans (25, flueman), John Howells (33), Henry Gingell (41) and John Lloyd (23). ^1,2,3
• The explosion occurred on the night of 8 October 1870. ^1,2,3
• The under-viewer Jenkin Meredith concluded the explosion took place at the flue, the men in No. 2 heading being unburnt, a piece of canvas found burning near the flue and the lamps locked; the fluemen were asleep and the barometer had dropped suddenly. ^3,4
• James Davies found gas in the north return about midnight, found the furnace nearly out and the fluemen asleep, and with the fireman John Howells decided to let the fire burn up rather than draw it; the explosion came about half an hour later. ^2,4
• The jury found the explosion was occasioned by gas coming in contact with the flue, that the fluemen were very culpable in allowing the fire to go so low and that closing the doors was a mistake, amounting to accidental death. ³
• Sarah Gingell testified that her husband said before he died that he had fallen asleep at the flue. ^3,4
• The adjourned inquest sat at the Boot Hotel, Aberdare, before the coroner George Overton, with Mr Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines, present. ^3,4

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Firedamp oozing from the north return airway on a falling barometer reached the furnace flue.
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  The fireman John Howells inspected the flue and decided to let the fire burn up; he was killed.
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  The overman James Davies found the gas and the sleeping fluemen and was among the dead.
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  The dead men's lamps were found locked, which the under-viewer used to rule them out as the ignition.
• Timberman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…night turn. About twelve o'clock the overman James Davies asked the timberman Thomas Thomas to come to the south side, having found gas in the…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) Abercwmboi Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) The colliery explosion at Abercwmboy, Aberdare: close of the inquiry (Western Mail, 28 October 1870) — The Western Mail, via Welsh Newspapers Online
3. (primary) The explosion at Aberdare (Monmouthshire Merlin, 28 October 1870) — Monmouthshire Merlin, via Welsh Newspapers Online
4. (primary) The Abercwmboy explosion inquest (Aberdare Times, 29 October 1870) — The Aberdare Times, via Welsh Newspapers Online

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026