Fochriw Colliery cage accident, 1869

On the afternoon of 6 December 1869 the cage carrying two men down No. 1 Pit at Fochriw broke away about 250 yards from the bottom, killing both; five more died in a similar accident at the colliery six weeks later.

Cause

The rope (or chain) by which the cage hung parted while the two men were being lowered; how it happened was not known at the time.

What happened

On the afternoon of Monday 6 December 1869 two workmen, William Long and William Dunstone, were being lowered into No. 1 Pit at Fochriw, a Dowlais Iron Company colliery. About 250 yards from the bottom the rope parted and they were hurled to the bottom of the shaft. Their bodies were terribly mangled, and parts were picked up in different places. On 8 January 1870 five more men were killed at the colliery when a winding rope came away from the drum.

Recorded claims

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

• On 6 December 1869 William Long, 49, and William Dunstone, 19, were killed at Fochriw Colliery when the rope snapped while they were riding in the cage. ¹
• Y Gwladgarwr reported that on the Monday afternoon two workmen descending No. 1 pit at Fochriw, belonging to Dowlais, were hurled to the bottom when the chain broke about 250 yards from the bottom; their names were William Long and William Dunstan, and how it happened was a mystery. ²
• Two men were killed in an identical accident about six weeks before the shaft accident of 8 January 1870, in which five died. ³

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “On the afternoon of 6 December 1869 the cage carrying two men down No. 1 Pit at Fochriw broke away about 250…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…bottom, killing both; five more died in a similar accident at the colliery six weeks later.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…the bottom the rope parted and they were hurled to the bottom of the shaft. Their bodies were terribly mangled, and parts were picked up in…”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) 1869 (Welsh mining fatalities by date) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Damwain yn y Fochriw, ger Dowlais - Y Gwladgarwr, 11 December 1869 — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (secondary) Fochrhiw colliery — welshcoalmines.co.uk

Record created: 2 October 2026 · Last researched: 2 October 2026