Birchgrove Colliery inrush, 1889

Around midnight on 15-16 April 1889 a stall in the Graigola seam at Birchgrove Colliery, near Swansea, was driven to within three feet of the flooded old Cwmdu workings; the coal gave way and the water drowned four men and six horses.

Cause

An ordinary stall twelve yards wide was driven through the boundary to within about three feet of the old Cwmdu workings without boreholes; the thin shell of coal gave way under the water behind it. The manager believed a drainage tap put in under an 1859 deed had unwatered Cwmdu, but it was above the level of the break.

What happened

Birchgrove, owned by Nicol and Co., was a pit about 120 yards deep in the Graigola vein, on the mountainside near Glais, with the Sisters Pit of the same firm beside it. About thirty men were on the Monday night shift. Shortly before midnight John Hares and George Griffiths, working a stall towards the boundary, saw the coal begin to 'weep' water. The wall in front came down with a crash and the water rushed in. Hares ran to the rise and took refuge in a stall with another man, William Jenkins; Griffiths tried to outrun the torrent and was overwhelmed.

Near the pit bottom Thomas Edwards felt the air reverse and heard the roar approach. Struggling in the water, he was carried to the bottom of the shaft just as the cage began to rise with a tram in it, leapt at it and was hauled to the surface hanging by his arms. His account raised the alarm. Four men died: George Griffiths, a collier married only four months; Lewis Williams, a haulier from Skewen; John Hoskins, a collier with a widow and two children; and the fireman John Richards. Six horses were drowned with them.

Rescue & recovery

An exploring party went down as soon as Edwards reached the surface and found the bodies of George Griffiths and John Richards. The water drained from the Birchgrove workings, but the other two bodies were thought to have been swept into the old workings and had not been recovered when the inquest opened.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspector of mines, J. T. Robson, examined the place the next day and estimated that about 100,000 gallons had broken in; he made a special report to the Home Secretary. The inquest, opened by the coroner Edward Strick at the Bridge End Inn, Birchgrove, on 17 April, ended with the manager censured.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

In the Commons on 16 May William Abraham ('Mabon') said the jury had first returned manslaughter against the manager, reduced by the coroner to censure; the Home Secretary, Henry Matthews, replied that the jury had negatived culpable negligence, but directed a prosecution. At Pontardawe petty sessions on 24 May 1889 the manager, Philip George, was charged under General Rule 13 of the 1887 Mines Regulation Act with failing to keep boreholes ahead of a working approaching a likely accumulation of water. His defence was that the overmen had always understood the tap drained Cwmdu. He was fined five shillings.

Recorded claims

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

• Four men and six horses were drowned at Birchgrove Colliery on 16 April 1889. ^1,2,3
• A stall twelve yards wide had been driven to within about three feet of the flooded Cwmdu workings without boreholes. ^1,4
• Thomas Edwards, caught by the water near the pit bottom, seized the rising cage and was hauled to the surface. ³
• The inspector estimated that about 100,000 gallons of water broke in. ¹
• The manager, Philip George, was prosecuted under General Rule 13 of the 1887 Act at Pontardawe on 24 May 1889. ^1,4
• Philip George was fined five shillings. ^1,2
• Birchgrove Colliery belonged to Nicol and Co. ³

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…in the water, he was carried to the bottom of the shaft just as the cage began to rise with a tram in it, leapt at it and was hauled to the…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…John Hoskins, a collier with a widow and two children; and the fireman John Richards. Six horses were drowned with them.”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “The inspector of mines, J. T. Robson, examined the place the next day and estimated that…”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Griffiths, a collier married only four months; Lewis Williams, a haulier from Skewen; John Hoskins, a collier with a widow and two children;…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “Around midnight on 15-16 April 1889 a stall in the Graigola seam at Birchgrove Colliery, near Swansea, was…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Glamorgan colliery fatalities, 1889 — Welsh Coal Mines website
2. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Birchgrove Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) The Cambrian, 19 April 1889: Fearful colliery accident at Birchgrove, near Swansea. Four lives lost — National Library of Wales, Welsh Newspapers
4. (primary) South Wales Echo, 25 May 1889: The Birchgrove disaster. Prosecution of the manager — National Library of Wales, Welsh Newspapers
5. (primary) South Wales Daily News, 18 April 1889: The Birchgrove Colliery disaster. Opening of the inquest — National Library of Wales, Welsh Newspapers
6. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Birchgrove colliery, Sisters pit, Brothers pits — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026