Bryndu Colliery explosion, 1852

One Thursday morning in November 1852 three men and a youth at Bryndu Colliery, Kenfig Hill, went into their workings with candles before the fireman had examined them with a safety lamp for firedamp gathered in the night. The gas exploded at once and killed all four, the youngest a boy of twelve.

Cause

Firedamp accumulated overnight in the workings, fired by the candles of men who entered before the fireman's examination.

Contributing factors

The four went in, in the words of a contemporary report quoted by Welsh Coal Mines, 'rashly' before the fireman had examined the place with a safety lamp.

What happened

Bryndu Colliery at Kenfig Hill had been opened in 1834 to supply two blast furnaces and was by 1852 in the hands of George Ford and Sons. Firedamp gathered in its workings overnight, and the rule was that the fireman went round with a safety lamp before the men entered. On a Thursday morning in November 1852, 11 November by Welsh Coal Mines and the 18th by the Northern Mine Research Society, three men and a youth went to their stall with candles before the fireman had examined it. In the words of the contemporary report quoted by Welsh Coal Mines, they had 'rashly ventured to their workings in the pit before the fireman had examined there with a safety lamp', and 'as soon as the four unfortunate individuals ventured in with their candles, an awful explosion took place which deprived them of life'. The dead were Thomas Jenkins, 35, David James, 25, Henry Jones, 16 or 17, and David Edmunds, a collier's boy of twelve. Thirteen months later the pit lost five more men to a naked light in the same way.

What's uncertain

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

• Welsh Coal Mines dates the explosion Thursday morning, 11 November 1852, on its colliery page and fatality list. (disputed) ^1,3
• The NMRS dates it 18 November 1852. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Three men and a youth, Thomas Jenkins, 35, David James, 25, Henry Jones, 16 or 17, and David Edmunds, 12, were killed when gas fired at their candles after they entered their workings before the fireman had examined them. ^1,2,3
• Welsh Coal Mines dates the explosion Thursday morning, 11 November 1852, on its colliery page and fatality list. (disputed) ^1,3
• The NMRS dates it 18 November 1852. (disputed) ²

Related terminology

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

• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Gas gathered overnight exploded.
• Fireman (contributing factor)
  They went in before the fireman's examination.
• Naked Light (direct cause)
  The men carried candles.
• Safety Lamp (contextual relationship)
  The fireman examined with a safety lamp.
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Northern Mine Research Society, three men and a youth went to their stall with candles before the fireman had examined it. In the words of the…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Bryndu colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Brynddu Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (information supplied by Ray Lawrence)
3. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1852 — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026