Black Vein Colliery explosion, 1846

On 14 January 1846 the naked flame of a candle fired a pocket of firedamp in one district of the Black Vein Pit at Risca, killing 35 men and boys, most of them suffocated by the afterdamp. Men working elsewhere in the pit felt only a strong current of air. It was the first of the explosions that earned the colliery its name as the death pit.

Cause

A candle's naked flame ignited a pocket of firedamp.

Contributing factors

Contemporary reports blamed naked candles and poor ventilation, and inspectors pointed to the inexperience of miners newly arrived from Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; it was said that the dayshift fireman was sick and his brother, sent in his place, was beating out gas with his coat when it fired.

What happened

About 150 men were at work in different parts of the pit, but the explosion affected only one area. Of the 35 dead it was said only one was Welsh, and he had been reluctant to go on working because he thought an accident inevitable. At the inquest the night fireman, Stephen Crook, described marking places where he found firedamp with a cross so that men would not pass them without a lamp, and said the men kept their lamps in their stalls.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest first sat on 23 January 1846 at the Albert Inn, Risca, and resumed in early February, with Sir Thomas Phillips representing John Russell & Co. and Mr Owen the relatives of some of the dead. Owen's attempt to call evidence that men had been compelled to work in the pit against their fears was resisted as irrelevant. The coroner's jury found the deaths due to an accidental explosion.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The partnership of John Russell and George Randle Hookey trading as John Russell & Co. was dissolved on 1 March 1846, and abandonment plans for several of the colliery's seams are dated 1846.

Recorded claims

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

• The explosion at the Black Vein Pit on 14 January 1846 killed 35. ^1,2
• Four were burned, thirty suffocated and one was hit by a carriage at the shaft bottom; only one area was affected, and men elsewhere felt only a strong current of air. ³
• The naked flame of a candle ignited a pocket of firedamp. ^3,1
• The dayshift fireman was sick and his brother was sent to check the mine; he was said to be beating out the gas with his coat when it exploded. (uncertain) ³
• At the adjourned inquest at the Albert Inn, Mr Owen, for the relatives of John Evans and others, sought to show that men had been coerced to work in the pit though afraid of the foul air; Sir Thomas Phillips, for John Russell & Co., objected. ²

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (hazard involved)
  Thirty of the dead were suffocated.
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  A pocket of firedamp fired at a candle.
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  The fireman's absence and his brother's substitution were reported.
• Naked Light (direct cause)
  A candle's naked flame was the ignition source.
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…pass them without a lamp, and said the men kept their lamps in their stalls.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Black Vein Colliery, Risca — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) The late Fatal Explosion at Risca: Adjourned Inquest (Monmouthshire Merlin, 7 February 1846) — Monmouthshire Merlin, via Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (secondary) Risca colliery disasters — Wikipedia

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 13 September 2026