Hendreforgan Colliery Explosion, 1869

A firedamp explosion shortly after thirteen men and boys started work killed six of them, the youngest an eleven-year-old door-boy. The pit was worked with open lamps and poorly ventilated, and a change to the airways days before had left three workings on one air current. The inquest jury asked the coroner to reprimand the owner, Alexander Bain, for putting the colliery in incompetent hands.

Cause

An explosion of firedamp. The colliery was worked largely with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace at the foot of the upcast shaft that moved only 3,600 cubic feet of air a minute. A few days earlier the ventilation had been changed and a stopping left out, so the same air passed through three workings in turn instead of each having its own split.

Contributing factors

Open lamps, weak furnace ventilation, and the altered airway without a stopping.

What happened

Thirteen men and boys had gone down that morning and had only just started work when the explosion was heard. A large crowd gathered at the pit head, fearing all were dead, and a search party went down.

Rescue & recovery

Three men were soon brought up exhausted and four more were rescued; five bodies were brought to the surface.

Investigation & inquiry

At the inquest the jury returned a verdict of accidental death and recommended that the coroner severely reprimand the owner, Alexander Bain, for entrusting the management of the colliery to an incompetent person.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

None recorded beyond the jury's recommended reprimand.

Changes to practice & legislation

None recorded.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Six were killed: Richard Nicholas, 36; William Hopkins, 30; Thomas Evan Jones, 25; David J. Davies, 20; David Jones, 19; and Samuel Arthur, 11, a door-boy. ^1,2
• Welsh Coal Mines' colliery page describes the explosion as killing five men and a boy. ³
• The colliery was worked mostly with open lamps and ventilated by a furnace passing only 3,600 cubic feet of air a minute; days before, the ventilation had been altered without a stopping, so the same air passed through three workings in succession. ¹
• The inquest returned accidental death and recommended the coroner severely reprimand Alexander Bain for entrusting management to an incompetent person. ¹
• Of thirteen men and boys underground, three were brought up exhausted and four more rescued before five bodies were recovered. ¹
• The Cwmllynfell schoolmaster recorded that most children were late on 11 November 1869 because they had gone to the scene of the accident. ⁴

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…the coroner to reprimand the owner, Alexander Bain, for putting the colliery in incompetent hands.”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace at the foot of the upcast shaft that moved only 3,600 cubic feet of air a minute. A few days earlier…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “A firedamp explosion shortly after thirteen men and boys started work killed…”
• Naked Light (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An explosion of firedamp. The colliery was worked largely with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace at the foot of the upcast shaft that…”

Photographs & further reading

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

Sources

1. (secondary) Hendreforgan Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (Ray Lawrence)
2. (secondary) 1869 (Welsh mining fatalities by date) — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Hendreforgan disaster (Hendreforgan Colliery) — Welsh Coal Mines
4. (secondary) Coal mining in Gwauncaegurwen and Cwmgors and local area (Glyn-Moch Colliery; Ystrad, Glanaman) — Gareth Hicks, GENUKI

Record created: 16 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026