MineArchiveDuffryn Main Colliery explosion, 1896
| Date | 4 August 1896 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Dyffryn Main Colliery |
| Region | Neath Port Talbot |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 7 (Lewis Jones senior, 54, collier, and his son Leyshon Jones, 21, suffocated; Lewis Jones junior, 25, collier, burnt; William Daniel Jones, 26, repairer, fractured skull; James Jones, 51, fireman, died 5 August; David Meyrick, 56, fireman, died 7 August; Evan Jones, 28, collier, died 24 August.) |
| Context | During active mining (The Main Colliery Company's No. 1 pit at Bryncoch, near Neath, a safety-lamp pit connected underground to Court Herbert, on the day after the Mabon's Day holiday, when fewer men than usual were at work.) |
On the morning of 4 August 1896 roof falls where pillars were being taken out in No. 1 pit of the Main Colliery at Bryncoch, near Neath, released a great volume of gas. The officials raised the alarm and some 175 men were drawn up within twenty minutes, but a fireman and four others went back to warn a father and his two sons working deep in the No. 2 South-East, and at about eleven the gas exploded at a partially protected Davy lamp. Seven died. The jury praised the rescuers, and the owners replaced the Davy lamps.
Cause
Firedamp released by falls of roof in pillar workings in No. 1 North-East, ignited by a partially protected Davy lamp carried by men going in to warn others; the Inspector thought a lamp was taken too far into an explosive mixture.
Contributing factors
Pillars had been worked for only three months, near a fault, and no gas had been seen there; the air current through the goaf was expected to dilute any gas released when the roof fell. Firedamp had been reported only rarely, though a shot had fired a small accumulation in January. The partly protected Davy lamp was in general use.
What happened
About 8.30 the repairers David Harris and William D. Jones heard the roof 'working' where a pillar had been removed; a small fall followed and a larger one about ten. Colliers came out saying their places were filling with gas and at least one light had been put out; Harris hurried them out and sent a haulier to warn the rest, and the undermanager and overman sent word through the pit. Lewis Jones junior came out for a light, said his father's and brother's lamps were out, and went back with others; their lamps failed in the gas. David Meyrick, James Jones, William D. Jones, who had volunteered in place of an older man, and Evan Jones went in with them. The explosion was heard like a peal of thunder in Neath, two miles away.
Rescue & recovery
Rescue parties went down at once, and the first bodies were brought up within two hours; the men at Court Herbert, connected underground, were all evacuated unhurt. The jury gave its greatest praise to the officials and workmen who took part.
Investigation & inquiry
H.M. Inspector Robson arrived at 4 p.m. and went straight down. The inquest before Mr Cuthbertson, coroner, sat at Neath Abbey on 13, 14 and 27 August with the Home Office represented by Chester Jones, barrister. The jury found the explosion caused by gas from the fall ignited by a partially protected Davy lamp. Chester Jones found a technical breach of Special Rule 116, no book having been kept of the ventilating fan's readings.
Changes to practice & legislation
The owners replaced the partly protected Davy lamp with the Cambrian bonneted fireman's lamp, and the jury recommended reconsidering the working of pillars near faults, stricter watch for gas, and effective surface communication between Nos. 1 and 2 pits and Court Herbert Colliery.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Seven men died after an explosion at No. 1 pit, Main Colliery, Bryncoch, on 4 August 1896: two suffocated, two found dead of burns and injuries, and three who died later of burns. 1,2,3
- Roof falls where pillars were being worked in No. 1 North-East released gas; about 176 men were got out of the pit in a short time before the explosion, and the fireman David Meyrick with others went back into No. 2 South-East to warn Lewis Jones and his sons. 1,3
- The jury found a fall in No. 1 North-East had caused an extraordinary accumulation of gas, ignited when the fireman and others went through the workings to warn men with a partially protected Davy lamp; it noted the owners had already adopted the Cambrian bonneted fireman's lamp and recommended reconsidering pillar working near faults and better surface communication with No. 2 pit and Court Herbert. 3
- H.M. Inspector Robson found all the recovered lamp gauzes in good order but thought one lamp had been taken too far into an explosive mixture. 3
- Welsh Coal Mines says about 185 went underground that morning and 175 were raised between 10.45 and 11.05; the CMHRC account says 176 were out, leaving 20 still down. (disputed) 1,3
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Firedamp (direct cause)
Gas released by a roof fall exploded. - Fireman (rescue/recovery concept)
Two firemen died going in to warn men. - Roof Fall (contributing factor)
Falls in pillar workings released the gas. - Safety Lamp (direct cause)
A partly protected Davy lamp fired the gas. - Stall (contextual relationship)
Pillar and stall workings.
Sources
- (primary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities 1896 — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Bryncoch colliery (Dyffryn Main) — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Mining disasters 1896-97: No. 1 MAIN BRYNCOCH, Neath, Glamorganshire, 4th August 1896 — Coal Mining History Resource Centre (Ian Winstanley)
Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026