Cwmnantddu Colliery explosion, 1857

On Monday 13 April 1857 firedamp fired at a candle in Cwmnantddu Colliery, Abersychan, soon after the fireman had assured the men that all was safe. Benjamin Heritage died as he was carried out and George Holbrook ten days later; the inquest jury censured the fireman.

Cause

A fall of roof over the gob was thought to have closed the windway serving a stall and let a blower of gas collect there, which fired at the candle of the collier Israel Parker as he entered.

Contributing factors

Men had complained for days of a cap on their candles and of the want of air, and an airway through the gob had been begun but stopped over a dispute about its price. The fireman had gone down at one o'clock because of gas elsewhere, did not go into the stall when asked, and Parker had not been given a safety lamp that morning.

What happened

About six o'clock on the Monday morning four men and a boy went into the Meadow Vein workings, whose stalls extended underground over nearly 200 acres. There had been fire in the work on the Saturday before, and the men were uneasy, but the fireman, Henry Smith, who had been down since one in the morning, told them all was right. Israel Parker's son George asked him to come into their stall with his lamp; Smith said it was all right, that he had been there, and went on down the heading. As Parker walked in with his candle held low, the gas fired. Parker and his son George threw themselves down and escaped almost unhurt, but Benjamin Heritage, 35, was found below his stall too badly burnt to speak and died as he was being taken out of the pit. His butty George Holbrook, 64, the roadman John Harris, Isaac Purseer and Smith himself were burnt; Holbrook died at home on Thursday 23 April.

Rescue & recovery

Men in the heading were driven back by the afterdamp at first; Heritage was found supported by a workmate, placed on a tram and carried out, with the injured, by men from the slope.

Investigation & inquiry

The inquest on Heritage was held at the Pentwyn Tavern, Abersychan, before the deputy coroner, Charles Manley Ashwin, and was attended by Herbert Mackworth, the inspector of mines, who read the colliery's rules to the jury. The manager of the coal department, Robert Smith, blamed a fall over the gob closing a windway, and said he would not employ the fireman in that capacity again. Mackworth said the men had complained day after day of a cap on the candle without the airway being improved, and that the fireman was much to blame for not reporting it. The jury found accidental death with a severe censure on the fireman. A second inquest, on Holbrook, at the Union Inn, Abersychan, returned accidental death.

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 Merlin names the owner as the Pontnewynydd Iron Company; Winstanley's list gives Crawshay Bailey. (disputed) ^1,6

Recorded claims

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

• On Monday 13 April 1857 firedamp fired at Cwmnantddu Colliery, Abersychan, burning six; Benjamin Heritage died as he was being brought out and George Holbrook died of his burns ten days later. ^1,2,3,4
• The gas, thought to have come from a fall over the gob that closed a windway, fired at a collier's candle as he went into his stall. ^5,6
• The men had been fearful because of fire in the workings the Saturday before, but the fireman, Henry Smith, told them all was right and did not go into the stall when asked. ^3,6
• The jury returned a verdict of accidental death on Benjamin Heritage with a severe censure on the fireman, Henry Smith. ⁶
• The Merlin names the owner as the Pontnewynydd Iron Company; Winstanley's list gives Crawshay Bailey. (disputed) ^1,6

Related terminology

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

• Blower (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…gob was thought to have closed the windway serving a stall and let a blower of gas collect there, which fired at the candle of the collier…”
• Buttyman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…burnt to speak and died as he was being taken out of the pit. His butty George Holbrook, 64, the roadman John Harris, Isaac Purseer and…”
• Goaf (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the cause: “A fall of roof over the gob was thought to have closed the windway serving a stall and let a…”
• Roadman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…was being taken out of the pit. His butty George Holbrook, 64, the roadman John Harris, Isaac Purseer and Smith himself were burnt; Holbrook…”
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the cause: “…roof over the gob was thought to have closed the windway serving a stall and let a blower of gas collect there, which fired at the candle of…”

Sources

1. (secondary) 1850s A: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: fatalities 1857 — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) Pontypool: fearful accident, Illustrated Usk Observer, 18 April 1857 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Abersychan: the fatal explosion at Cwmnantddu Colliery, death of another of the injured men, Monmouthshire Merlin, 2 May 1857 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
5. (secondary) 1850s H: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero
6. (primary) The explosion at Cwmnantddu Colliery, Monmouthshire Merlin, 25 April 1857 — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)
7. (secondary) Llanerch Colliery, Abersychan — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 23 October 2026 · Last researched: 23 October 2026