Glamorgan Colliery cage accident, 1903

Two men fell to their deaths in the No. 2 shaft at Llwynypia on 22 January 1903 when the crowded double-deck cage struck a water garland in the shaft and tipped; three more clung to the frame all the way down.

Cause

The descending cage struck a cast-iron water garland curb in the shaft and tilted, throwing men out.

What happened

On the morning of 22 January 1903 about thirty men were going down the 480-yard No. 2 shaft at the Glamorgan Coal Company's colliery at Llwynypia in a double-deck cage. On the way down the cage struck the cast-iron curb of a water garland, despite a clearance of nineteen inches, and tilted. Enoch Davies, 20, and Ambrose Priesthood, 56, were thrown out and fell to the bottom. William Gardiner, David Jones and Francis May clung to the cage framework until it reached pit bottom; Gardiner, both legs broken, had to be forced to let go of the top rail. The shaft and its appliances were afterwards found in good order, and no one could say why the cage had swung.

Investigation & inquiry

The shaft and appliances were found in good order, and the cause of the cage's swing could not be established.

Recorded claims

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

• On 22 January 1903 two men were thrown out and killed when the double-deck cage carrying about thirty men down No. 2 Pit at the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia, struck an obstruction and tilted. ^1,2,3
• The cage struck a cast-iron water garland curb in the shaft, although there was a clearance of nineteen inches; the shaft and appliances were found in good order. ^2,3
• Three others, William Gardiner, David Jones and Francis May, clung to the cage frame until it reached the bottom; Gardiner had both legs broken. ¹
• The dead were Enoch Davies, 20, and Ambrose Priesthood, 56. ^1,2
• The colliery belonged to the Glamorgan Coal Co. Ltd. ^2,3

Related terminology

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

• Cage (contextual relationship)
  Named 7 times in this record, first in the summary: “…2 shaft at Llwynypia on 22 January 1903 when the crowded double-deck cage struck a water garland in the shaft and tipped; three more clung to…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…going down the 480-yard No. 2 shaft at the Glamorgan Coal Company's colliery at Llwynypia in a double-deck cage. On the way down the cage struck…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two men fell to their deaths in the No. 2 shaft at Llwynypia on 22 January 1903 when the crowded double-deck cage…”
• Water Garland (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…on 22 January 1903 when the crowded double-deck cage struck a water garland in the shaft and tipped; three more clung to the frame all the way…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Mining fatalities, 1903 - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames D, part 2 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (secondary) Mining deaths 1900-1909, surnames P, part 5 (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026