Blaengwynfi Colliery overwind, 1891

Eight sinkers coming off shift at the new Blaengwynfi shaft were killed on 30 September 1891 when the bowk was drawn over the winding wheel and thrown against the engine house.

Cause

The engineman let the loaded bowk rise too far and overwound it.

Contributing factors

The inspector believed the engineman's attention was taken for a moment by his relief coming into the engine house; no detaching hook was in use.

What happened

A shaft had been sinking for nearly two years at Abergwynfi, at the head of the Afan valley, and the hamlet of Blaengwynfi was growing up beside it. At the ten o'clock change of shift on the night of 30 September 1891 the eight sinkers coming off entered the bowk and were wound up. At the surface it stopped only for a moment, then was drawn on over the winding wheel, struck the end of the engine house some forty feet from the shaft and fell with its load to the ground. The banksman and overman ran the trolley over the shaft mouth, so that Richard Skinner fell onto it rather than back down the shaft, where eight more men were at work. One man died on the spot, six within half an hour and Skinner early the next morning.

Rescue & recovery

Four doctors, two of them from Maesteg, attended; the dead were laid out in the carpenters' shop.

Investigation & inquiry

The coroner's jury returned a verdict of accidental death. The inspector found the machinery in perfect order and blamed the engineman's momentary distraction; he thought a detaching hook might have saved the men but did not recommend their use, as they were not compulsory and their value was in question.

Recorded claims

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

• On 30 September 1891 eight sinkers were killed at the No. 1 shaft being sunk at Blaengwynfi when the bowk carrying them up was overwound. ^1,2,3
• The men were coming off at the ten o'clock change of shift; the bowk stopped only for a moment at the surface, was drawn over the winding wheel, struck the end of the engine house about 40 feet away and fell to the ground. ³
• The banksman and overman ran the trolley over the shaft mouth in time to stop one man falling back down the shaft, where eight more men were working. ³
• The coroner's jury returned a verdict of accidental death. ²
• The inspector believed the engineman's attention was taken for a moment by his relief arriving, so that he let the bowk rise too far, then lost his head and overwound it; he found the machinery in perfect order. ^1,2
• The inspector thought a detaching hook might have saved the men, but did not recommend them, as they were not compulsory and their effectiveness was in question. ^1,2
• The colliery was the property of the Glyncorrwg Colliery Company Ltd. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…forty feet from the shaft and fell with its load to the ground. The banksman and overman ran the trolley over the shaft mouth, so that Richard…”
• Detaching Hook (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…order and blamed the engineman's momentary distraction; he thought a detaching hook might have saved the men but did not recommend their use, as they…”
• Engine House (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the bowk was drawn over the winding wheel and thrown against the engine house.”
• Kibble (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the new Blaengwynfi shaft were killed on 30 September 1891 when the bowk was drawn over the winding wheel and thrown against the engine house.”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the shaft and fell with its load to the ground. The banksman and overman ran the trolley over the shaft mouth, so that Richard Skinner fell…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Blaengwynfi Colliery shaft accident, Garw Valley, 1891 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Glyncorrwg Colliery, Blaengwynfi and Glyncorrwg, Afan Valley — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Colliery Disaster at Abergwynfi: Eight Men Killed (newspaper, 3 October 1891) — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026