Cwmtillery Colliery explosion, 1857

On the morning of 27 May 1857 firedamp exploded in the Three-Quarter seam of John Russell's Tyr Nicholas (Cwmtillery) Colliery, a pit with no furnace and one ventilating door. Thirteen died, among them the fireman Samuel Merrifield, whom the jury blamed for walking into gas with an open lamp.

Cause

Firedamp released when William Wyatt's stall broke into a 'loose', ignited at the fireman's lamp, which he carried without its top.

Contributing factors

The furnace had been removed two years before, leaving no means of driving air; the seam's ventilation hung on a single door; the colliery worked to rules that were not the ones the Secretary of State had approved.

What happened

The colliery worked the Big Vein and, eleven yards below, the Three-Quarter, where little gas had been met. Wyatt told the underviewer John Carpenter that morning that he had struck through the loose the day before and had caught a little fire; Carpenter told him not to go in without lamps and the fireman. George Bence saw Samuel Merrifield go past with a lighted lamp without its top, followed by Wyatt and Thomas Barwell. About twenty minutes later the explosion came. The dead were Samuel and Charles Merrifield, William Williams, Jonas Brown, John Hawkins, John Silcox, George Taylor, Wyatt, Barwell, Thomas Parry, the door boy John Jones, the haulier James Gregory and Henry Clark.

Rescue & recovery

Carpenter went down at once, patched the shattered door to turn the air, and carried out George Miller and George Bence before being overcome; the fireman Joseph Merrifield crawled in repeatedly, helped bring out his father and brother, and rescued George Taylor's boy before collapsing.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest at the Bridge End Inn before the deputy coroner W. H. Brewer, the inspector Mackworth questioned the colliery rules and argued that only excluding naked lights gave real safety.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

The jury found the deaths caused by an explosion of firedamp occasioned by the recklessness of Samuel Merrifield, and recommended that the owner restore the furnace or otherwise ventilate the works properly, with double doors.

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.

• The explosion of 27 May 1857 killed Samuel Merrifield, fireman, 29, Charles Merrifield, 58, William Williams, Jonas Brown, John Hawkins, John Silcox, George Taylor, William Wyatt, Thomas Barwell, Thomas Parry, John Jones, 12, James Gregory and Henry Clark. ^1,2
• The jury blamed the recklessness of Samuel Merrifield and recommended the furnace be restored. ²

Related terminology

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

• Afterdamp (hazard involved)
  Overcame the rescuers.
• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…no furnace and one ventilating door. Thirteen died, among them the fireman Samuel Merrifield, whom the jury blamed for walking into gas with an…”
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Taylor, Wyatt, Barwell, Thomas Parry, the door boy John Jones, the haulier James Gregory and Henry Clark.”
• Safety Lamp (direct cause)
  Carried open by the fireman.
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “Firedamp released when William Wyatt's stall broke into a 'loose', ignited at the fireman's lamp, which he…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Cwmtillery Colliery disasters: death rolls — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Cwmtillery (Tyr Nicholas) Colliery Explosion - Abertillery - 1857 — Northern Mine Research Society

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