Glamorgan Colliery roof fall, 1881

A fall killed three repairers ripping the roof of an incline road in the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia, around midnight on 30 April 1881, minutes after they were warned.

Cause

A fall of roof brought down while the top of a roadway was being ripped.

What happened

Around midnight on Saturday 30 April 1881 three men were repairing the incline road in the Glamorgan Company's steam coal pit at Llwynypia, ripping down the top. A passing workman warned them that they were making a trap for themselves. Shortly afterwards a great fall came down. John Emmett, 26, a married man, and John Shewry, 24, were killed on the spot. John Connelly, partly sheltered by a dram, was got out alive but died the next day.

Recorded claims

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

• Three repairers, John Emmett, 26, John Shewry, 24, and John Connelly, were killed by a fall at the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia, around midnight on 30 April 1881. ^1,2
• They were repairing the incline road and ripping down the top when a great fall came on them; Emmett and Shewry died on the spot and Connelly the next day. ^1,2
• They had been warned of the danger shortly before; a passing workman told them they were making a trap for themselves. ^1,2
• The Durham Mining Museum's list for the colliery records John Emmett, repairer, killed by a fall of roof, dated 1 May 1881. ³

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: “…three repairers ripping the roof of an incline road in the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia, around midnight on 30 April 1881, minutes after they…”
• Incline (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A fall killed three repairers ripping the roof of an incline road in the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia, around midnight on 30…”
• Ripping (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A fall killed three repairers ripping the roof of an incline road in the Glamorgan Colliery, Llwynypia,…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “A fall of roof brought down while the top of a roadway was being ripped.”
• Tub (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…24, were killed on the spot. John Connelly, partly sheltered by a dram, was got out alive but died the next day.”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities, 1881 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Damwain ddychrynllyd yn y Rhondda: tri glowr wedi eu lladd (Tarian y Gweithiwr, 5 May 1881) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Llwynypia Colliery — Durham Mining Museum

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