Fochriw Colliery Winding Accident, 1870

The winding rope detached from its drum at Fochriw Colliery's No. 1 shaft, sending the cages and everyone in them plunging to the bottom and killing five men — the second such accident at the colliery within two months.

Cause

The winding rope detached itself from the drum of the winding engine while men were being raised or lowered in the cages at No. 1 shaft, causing the cages to fall to the bottom of the shaft.

What happened

On 8 January 1870, the winding rope at Fochriw Colliery's No. 1 shaft detached itself from the winding engine's drum while cages were in the shaft, and the cages fell to the bottom, killing everyone in them. Five men died: Absalom Andrews, a 22-year-old hitcher; the overman M. Jones, aged 48; and three more men, S. Rees (47), H. Thomas (39) and D. Davies (47), a labourer. This was the second fatal winding accident at the colliery in a matter of weeks — a broadly similar accident roughly six weeks earlier had already killed two men.

Memorials & commemoration

No dedicated memorial to this specific accident has been identified; the men are likely among those commemorated on Fochriw's general War and Colliery Memorial.

Recorded claims

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

• Five men were killed when the winding rope detached from the drum and the cages fell to the bottom of No. 1 shaft: Absalom Andrews (22, hitcher), M. Jones (48, overman), S. Rees (47), H. Thomas (39) and D. Davies (47, labourer). ¹
• A broadly similar winding accident roughly six weeks before this one had already killed two men at the same colliery. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “The winding rope detached from its drum at Fochriw Colliery's No. 1 shaft, sending the cages and everyone in them plunging to…”
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…in them. Five men died: Absalom Andrews, a 22-year-old hitcher; the overman M. Jones, aged 48; and three more men, S. Rees (47), H. Thomas (39)…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 5 times in this record, first in the summary: “The winding rope detached from its drum at Fochriw Colliery's No. 1 shaft, sending the cages and everyone in them plunging to the bottom and…”
• Winding Engine (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “The winding rope detached itself from the drum of the winding engine while men were being raised or lowered in the cages at No. 1 shaft,…”

Sources

1. (primary) Fochriw Colliery 1853-1924 — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Fochrhiw colliery — welshcoalmines.co.uk

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