Cwmbran Colliery roof fall, 1893

A timberman and a fourteen-year-old boy retimbering a road at Cwmbran Colliery on 13 January 1893 were buried by a fall that went unnoticed for hours.

Cause

The roof fell on a roadway being retimbered before the new timbers were tightened, lagged and weighted.

What happened

At the end of the shift on 13 January 1893 the timberman Thomas Morgan, 40, and the collier's boy Frederick Hamblin, 14, were replacing the timbers on a roadway at Cwmbran Colliery. The roof fell before the new timbers had been tightened, lagged and weighted, and brought them down on the pair. The haulier had already taken out the last tram, so no one knew for three or four hours, until a search was made because they had not come home. The boy was still alive when his father, a pit overman, and the examiner reached him, but died before they could free him.

Rescue & recovery

A search began three or four hours later when the two had not come home; the boy's father and the examiner reached him alive, but he died before he could be freed.

Recorded claims

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

• On 13 January 1893 the timberman Thomas Morgan, 40, and the collier's boy Frederick Hamblin, 14, were killed by a fall of roof at Cwmbran Colliery. ^1,2,3,4
• They were replacing the timbers on a roadway, and the roof fell before the new ones had been tightened, lagged and weighted, bringing them down on the two. ^1,2,3,4
• It happened at the end of the shift after the last tram had gone out, and was not found for three or four hours, until a search was made because they had not come home. ^1,2,3,4
• The boy was still alive when his father, a pit overman, and the examiner reached him, but died before they could free him. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to the Patent Nut and Bolt Company Ltd. ^3,4

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 summary: “A timberman and a fourteen-year-old boy retimbering a road at Cwmbran Colliery on 13 January 1893 were buried by a fall that went unnoticed for…”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…lagged and weighted, and brought them down on the pair. The haulier had already taken out the last tram, so no one knew for three or…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…had not come home. The boy was still alive when his father, a pit overman, and the examiner reached him, but died before they could free him.”
• Timberman (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A timberman and a fourteen-year-old boy retimbering a road at Cwmbran Colliery…”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…them down on the pair. The haulier had already taken out the last tram, so no one knew for three or four hours, until a search was made…”

Sources

1. (primary) Cwmbran Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities, 1893 — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames H (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
4. (secondary) Mining deaths 1890-1899, surnames M part 7 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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