Brynmally Colliery explosion, 1889

On 13 March 1889 a roof fall at Garston's jig in the Queen seam of Brynmally's No. 1 Pit released an outburst of gas that fired at open lamps, killing twenty men and boys, eight of them sixteen or younger. The inspector blamed lax discipline over lamps under the North Wales butty system.

Cause

A fall of roof in Garston's jig released a sudden outburst of gas, ignited where three men and a boy were thought to be sitting with lighted open lamps.

Contributing factors

Safety lamps were used but were opened for relighting in the workings; chartermasters and others carried lamp keys; discipline under the butty (chartermaster) system was poor.

What happened

Thomas Clayton's colliery worked the Upper and Lower Queen seams with about 200 men and boys, ventilated by a Schiele fan, using safety lamps. The fireman William Parry had found no gas. The explosion occurred near the jig wheel and blew everything away from that point; gas was met during the rescue. The dead included the chartermasters Henry Garston, 50, and Thomas Edwards, 40, the byeman Hugh Jones, and the boys James Davies, Edward W. Edwards, Edward Rowland and Charles Hughes, all fourteen.

Rescue & recovery

Ioan Powell, manager of the Vron Colliery, was in the exploring party that found most of the bodies.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest was held before the coroner B. H. Thelwall at the Harp Inn, Moss. The inspector Henry Hall called the contravention of the rules a discredit to the district's workmen, blamed generally bad management, and in his reports attributed the poor safety of North Wales pits to the butty system.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found the explosion caused by an accidental fall of roof in Garston's jig, releasing gas ignited where three men and a boy were supposed to be sitting with lighted open lamps.

Changes to practice & legislation

Unknown.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion on 13 March 1889 killed 20 men and boys; the cause was blamed on a fall bringing down an outburst of firedamp ignited by a naked flame. ^1,2
• The jury found an accidental fall of roof in Garston's jig caused a sudden outburst of gas, ignited at lighted open lamps. ²

Related terminology

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

• Buttyman (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…The inspector blamed lax discipline over lamps under the North Wales butty system.”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Released by a roof fall.
• Naked Light (direct cause)
  Open lamps ignited the gas.
• Outburst (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…Garston's jig in the Queen seam of Brynmally's No. 1 Pit released an outburst of gas that fired at open lamps, killing twenty men and boys, eight…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “On 13 March 1889 a roof fall at Garston's jig in the Queen seam of Brynmally's No. 1 Pit released…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Brynmally Colliery, Moss, near Wrexham — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Brynmally Colliery Explosion - Wrexham - 1889 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 21 September 2026