Garngoch Colliery explosion, 1880

On 7 July 1880 firedamp exploded in the Swansea Five Feet seam at Garngoch Colliery, Gorseinon, 205 yards down, killing five colliers and a boy of fourteen. The pit was worked with naked lights. Two of the men were driving a stall through to another that had been left idle that morning after a fall, and gas was thought to have gathered there behind the fall and fired at their lamps, though the overman had found the place clear half an hour earlier.

Cause

Firedamp accumulated in a stall left idle after a fall that morning, its ventilation impeded, and fired at the colliers' naked lights.

Contributing factors

The seam was worked with naked lights, and men were driving a stall to join one that the fall had put out of use.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest before the coroner, Mr E. Strick, the overman said he had tested for gas about half an hour before the explosion and found none, and the Mines Inspector could find no gas when he examined the workings afterwards. It was surmised that gas had built up in the disused stall because the fall impeded its ventilation.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of firedamp at Garngoch Colliery on 7 July 1880 killed six: John Lewis, 30; Daniel Rees, 29; Thomas Hugh, 29; William Morgan, 33; David Rosser, 21; and the collier's boy Daniel Watkins, 14. ^1,2,3
• Welsh Coal Mines' 1880 list gives the third man as Thomas Hugh Walters, noting that some give his surname as Hugh, and says he died of his injuries on the 15th; the Durham Mining Museum lists Thomas Hugh, killed on 7 July. (disputed) ^2,3
• The pit was worked with naked lights; two men were driving a stall to join another left idle that morning after a fall, and gas was thought to have gathered in the idle stall, its ventilation impeded by the fall, and fired at the lamps. ^1,3
• At the inquest before the coroner E. Strick the overman said he had tested for gas about half an hour before the blast and found it clear; the Inspector found no gas when he examined the place afterwards. ^1,3

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…1880 firedamp exploded in the Swansea Five Feet seam at Garngoch Colliery, Gorseinon, 205 yards down, killing five colliers and a boy of…”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Firedamp exploded.
• Naked Light (direct cause)
  The pit was worked with naked lights.
• Overman (contextual relationship)
  The overman had tested for gas half an hour before.
• Stall (contributing factor)
  Gas gathered in an idle stall.

Sources

1. (secondary) Garngoch colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum - Garngoch Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1880 — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026