MineArchiveEastern Colliery roof fall, 1885
A fall of stone at Eastern Colliery, Ton Pentre, on 19 March 1885 killed a repairer and a mason.
| Date | 19 March 1885 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Eastern Colliery |
| Region | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Type | Collapse / Roof Fall |
| Fatalities | 2 (Richard Pugh (44), repairer, and James White (26), mason.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
A fall of stone (roof).
What happened
On 19 March 1885 a fall of stone at Eastern Colliery, Ton Pentre, then worked by David Davies and Company, killed Richard Pugh, a 44-year-old repairer, and James White, a 26-year-old mason.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- Richard Pugh, 44, repairer, and James White, 26, mason, were killed by a roof fall at Eastern Colliery on 19 March 1885. 1
- On 19 March 1885 Richard Pugh, repairer, of Eastern Ocean Colliery, Ton Pentre, was killed by a fall of stone, with James White, mason; two were killed. 2
- Eastern Colliery was sunk by David Davies and Company and first produced coal in July 1877; the Ocean Coal Company was formed in 1887. 1
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 fall of stone at Eastern Colliery, Ton Pentre, on 19 March 1885 killed a repairer and a mason.”
Photographs & further reading
This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.
The year's list of Welsh mining deaths, including the Eastern Colliery fall.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Eastern Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Mining fatalities, 1885 - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026