Black Vein Colliery explosion, November 1842

In the early hours of 5 November 1842 firedamp exploded in the Black Vein pit at Risca, then three years old, killing two colliers, John Thomas and Joseph Smedley, and badly burning others. Another explosion followed there within four weeks.

Cause

Firedamp, seen in some stalls the evening before and fenced off, fired at the uncovered candle of a collier going back to his place with a blasting cartridge.

What happened

Firedamp had appeared in the No. 2 pit, and at six on the Friday evening the watchman, Thomas Crooke, found it in some stalls, sent the men there to the surface and laid sticks across the foul stalls as a warning, then walked the pit with a Davy lamp all night. John Thomas came to work at about two in the morning and two or three hours later, wanting powder to blast, went to Richard Harris, who worked some sixty yards off, for a cartridge. He went back towards his place with an uncovered candle, and soon after the gas exploded. Crooke, who was on his way up the pit, went down again with the other watchman, William Walker. Men brought out two who had been burnt; Joseph Smedley was found dead at the bottom of the pit, partly under a tram and in water, and John Thomas dead in the sump, head downwards. Both had been blown into the water by the blast.

Rescue & recovery

The watchmen Thomas Crooke and William Walker led the search below; the burnt men were carried out and the two bodies recovered from the water at the pit bottom and the sump.

Investigation & inquiry

An inquest was held the same afternoon before William Brewer, coroner. Crooke described the watch kept for firedamp and the warning sticks; the jury returned a verdict of accidental death. The newspaper found no blame attached to the proprietors.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The Merlin reports four men badly burned; the Welsh Coal Mines list gives two badly injured. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• At about two in the morning of Saturday 5 November 1842 firedamp exploded in the No. 2 pit of Russell and Company's Black Vein (Waun Fawr) Colliery, Risca, killing John Thomas and Joseph Smedley and badly burning others. ^1,2
• John Thomas, having borrowed a cartridge for blasting, went back towards his place with an uncovered candle into a part where firedamp had been seen the evening before. ^1,2
• The inquest before William Brewer, coroner, returned a verdict of accidental death. ²
• The Merlin reports four men badly burned; the Welsh Coal Mines list gives two badly injured. (disputed) ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “In the early hours of 5 November 1842 firedamp exploded in the Black Vein pit at Risca, then three years old,…”
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…across the foul stalls as a warning, then walked the pit with a Davy lamp all night. John Thomas came to work at about two in the morning and…”
• Shot-firing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…at the uncovered candle of a collier going back to his place with a blasting cartridge.”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “Firedamp, seen in some stalls the evening before and fenced off, fired at the uncovered candle of…”
• Sump (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…pit, partly under a tram and in water, and John Thomas dead in the sump, head downwards. Both had been blown into the water by the blast.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: fatalities 1842 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Fatal colliery accident (Risca), Monmouthshire Merlin, 12 November 1842 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Explosion of fire-damp at the Risca Colliery, Monmouthshire Merlin, 10 December 1842 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026