Cwmbach Colliery shaft accident, 1853

Two miners riding a stage up the Abernant-y-groes pit at Cwmbach fell 110 yards when its rope broke on 2 May 1853; the carpenter with them saved himself on a stemple.

Cause

The rope of the hanging stage broke near the winding drum.

What happened

On the night of Monday 2 May 1853 David Howell and Morgan Nicholas, both 30, were coming up the Abernant-y-groes pit at Cwmbach, near Aberdare, on a hanging stage with the colliery carpenter, John Williams. About ten yards from the top the rope broke close to the drum and the stage fell away. Williams had one foot on a stemple and an arm round the guide and held on; the other two fell some 110 yards to their deaths. The inquest at the Ship and Castle, Cwmbach, returned accidental death. Ian Winstanley's list places the accident at Thomas Powell's neighbouring Old Duffryn pit; the inquest report and Welsh Coal Mines both name Abernant-y-groes.

What's uncertain

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

• The accident was at Thomas Powell's Old Duffryn pit. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• On 2 May 1853 David Howell and Morgan Nicholas, both 30, were killed when the rope of the stage on which they were riding in the shaft broke near Aberdare. ^1,2,3
• The accident was at the Abernant-y-groes pit at Cwmbach, the first name of Cwmbach Colliery. ^1,2
• The accident was at Thomas Powell's Old Duffryn pit. (disputed) ³
• They were coming up with the colliery carpenter, who saved himself by stepping onto a stemple when the stage fell away 10 yards from the top; the two fell 110 yards. ¹
• The inquest at the Ship and Castle, Cwmbach, returned accidental death. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…pit at Cwmbach, near Aberdare, on a hanging stage with the colliery carpenter, John Williams. About ten yards from the top the rope…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1853 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Merthyr: inquests, Abernant Groes coal pit (Monmouthshire Merlin, 13 May 1853) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1850-1859, surnames N (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists), via the Internet Archive

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026