Dinas Colliery cage accident, 1884

Two men riding up the shaft at Dinas Colliery in the Rhondda on 8 November 1884 were thrown out when the cage, thought to be overcrowded, caught the shaft sides, and fell 60 yards.

Cause

The ascending cage caught the shaft sides and two men fell out; it was thought to have been overcrowded.

What happened

At about a quarter to three on the afternoon of Saturday 8 November 1884 a cageful of men was coming up the shaft at Dinas Colliery, the old Coffin pit in the Rhondda, then worked by the Dinas Steam Coal Colliery Company. The cage caught the sides of the shaft and two men fell out, dropping 60 yards. James Pritchard was killed outright and William Griffiths, 19, lived only a few minutes. The cage was thought to have been overcrowded. Two days earlier James Mathias had been killed at the same colliery by a fall of coal.

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 cage was believed to have been overcrowded. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• At about 2.45 p.m. on Saturday 8 November 1884 two men riding up the shaft at Dinas Colliery, in the Rhondda, fell out of the cage when it caught the sides, and dropped 60 yards; James Pritchard was killed outright and William Griffiths, 19, died within minutes. ^1,2
• The cage was believed to have been overcrowded. (uncertain) ¹
• A collier, James Mathias, had been killed at the colliery by a fall of coal two days before. ¹
• The colliery belonged to the Dinas Steam Coal Colliery Co. Ltd. ²

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Colliery in the Rhondda on 8 November 1884 were thrown out when the cage, thought to be overcrowded, caught the shaft sides, and fell 60…”
• Coal (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…James Mathias had been killed at the same colliery by a fall of coal.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two men riding up the shaft at Dinas Colliery in the Rhondda on 8 November 1884 were thrown out when the cage,…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two men riding up the shaft at Dinas Colliery in the Rhondda on 8 November 1884 were thrown out…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities, 1884 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1880-1889, surnames P, part 4 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

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