Black Vein Colliery fall of coal, 1871

On the morning of Friday 26 May 1871 a fall of coal buried the collier John Wilkins in his stall at the Black Vein Pit, Risca, and a second fall killed John Phillips, one of the two colliers who had run to dig him out.

Cause

A double slip in the coal, a natural face slip and a cross slip, which brought down about fifteen tons of coal in two falls.

What happened

At about half past nine Wilkins was crossing the face of his stall with a mandril and pulled down a small bunch of coal from the top, when a large piece of coal slipped down on him. A collier lad, Edwin Thomas, working nearby, was put in the dark when the fall blew out both lights; he struggled free and fetched two colliers from the next stall, Phillips and Isaac Durwin. They had been at work on the coal over Wilkins for less than a minute when a second fall came down on them. Phillips was killed on the spot. Durwin was buried but fought his way out with an injured arm and raised the other colliers. Several other men were hurt, none seriously.

The stall was about thirteen yards wide and had been worked in some fifteen yards, part of a system of double stalls the Inspector had agreed to because single stalls were found useless in the seam. It carried the fireman's chalk mark showing it had been examined that morning, and there was plenty of timber at hand. Durwin believed Wilkins could have been saved if the second slip had not come.

Rescue & recovery

Edwin Thomas fetched Phillips and Durwin from the next stall to free Wilkins; the second fall killed Phillips and buried Durwin, who freed himself and called the other colliers to the place.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner W. H. Brewer opened the inquest on Saturday 27 May and adjourned it so that the Government inspector could attend. At the Plough Inn, Risca, on Thursday 1 June, Lionel Brough, H.M. Inspector of Mines, who had examined the stall, said the bye-laws and the firemen's duties had been properly carried out and enough timber set; the double slip was almost impossible to see or guard against. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

Recorded claims

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

• A fall of coal at the Black Vein Pit, Risca, on 26 May 1871 killed John Wilkins and John Phillips. ^1,2,3
• Phillips was killed by a second fall while trying to free Wilkins; Isaac Durwin was buried with him and got out injured. ^1,3
• The Inspector put the falls down to a double slip, a natural face slip and a cross slip, almost impossible to see or guard against. ³
• The inquest, adjourned for the Inspector, returned a verdict of accidental death at the Plough Inn, Risca. ^2,3
• Several other men were injured, not seriously. ²

Related terminology

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

• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “On the morning of Friday 26 May 1871 a fall of coal buried the collier John Wilkins in his stall at the Black Vein Pit,…”
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…because single stalls were found useless in the seam. It carried the fireman's chalk mark showing it had been examined that morning, and there…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…At the Plough Inn, Risca, on Thursday 1 June, Lionel Brough, H.M. Inspector of Mines, who had examined the stall, said the bye-laws and the firemen's…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 8 times in this record, first in the summary: “…26 May 1871 a fall of coal buried the collier John Wilkins in his stall at the Black Vein Pit, Risca, and a second fall killed John…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Fatalities 1871 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Fatal colliery accident at Risca: two men killed and several others injured (The Western Mail, 29 May 1871) — National Library of Wales
3. (primary) Risca: fatal accident at the Black Vein Pit (Monmouthshire Merlin, 2 June 1871) — National Library of Wales

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