Abercynon Colliery Sinking Accident, 1893

Date	23 January 1893
Mine	Abercynon Colliery
Region	Rhondda Cynon Taf
Primary type	Collapse / Roof Fall
Associated types	Winding / Shaft Accident
Fatalities	8 (William Tudor (34), Henry Cuddy (38), Richard Davies (54), Robert Roberts (32), Cnd Williams (25), John Williams (37) and Godfrey Jones (20). David Jones (46) died on 22 February from injuries received in the same fall, which would make nine deaths in all; the sources give the accident's toll as eight.)
Context	During active mining
Status	Researched

Eight sinkers were killed by a fall while the shafts of Abercynon Colliery — then the Dowlais Cardiff Colliery — were being sunk on 23 January 1893. A ninth man, David Jones, died a month later of injuries from the same fall.

Abercynon Colliery photographed in the 1980s; eight sinkers were killed by a fall while these shafts were being sunk in January 1893 — jeff lewis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cause

A fall in the shaft during sinking operations.

What happened

The shafts had been under way since December 1889 and were still some years from coal. On 23 January 1893 a fall in the shaft killed eight of the sinkers outright. David Jones, aged 46, died on 22 February of injuries received in the same fall.

Recorded claims

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

Eight sinkers were killed: William Tudor (34), Henry Cuddy (38), Richard Davies (54), Robert Roberts (32), Cnd Williams (25), John Williams (37) and Godfrey Jones (20). ¹
David Jones, aged 46, died on 22 February 1893 of injuries received in the same fall; the sources nonetheless give the accident's toll as eight. (uncertain) ¹
The deaths came during the sinking of the shafts, which ran from December 1889 to first coal in July 1896 and cost eighteen lives in all. ^2,1

Related terminology

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

Coal (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…been under way since December 1889 and were still some years from coal. On 23 January 1893 a fall in the shaft killed eight of the sinkers…”
Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “Eight sinkers were killed by a fall while the shafts of Abercynon Colliery — then the Dowlais Cardiff Colliery — were being sunk on 23 January…”
Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “A fall in the shaft during sinking operations.”
Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s cause: “A fall in the shaft during sinking operations.”

Sources

(secondary) Abercynon Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
(secondary) Abercynon Colliery — Wikipedia

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026