Lower Duffryn Colliery explosion, 1860

On 6 November 1860 an explosion in the Nine Feet vein of the Lower Duffryn Colliery, near Mountain Ash, killed twelve men and boys. It was the third fatal explosion at the colliery in a few years.

Cause

Gas that had accumulated in No. 11 stall, six yards ahead of the brattice with almost no air, was ignited and the flame passed through No. 1 cross heading. The men had just broken through from a heading being driven to bring air to the stalls and were going back to work after their food.

Contributing factors

The inspector found the ventilation inadequate, blasting allowed in a fiery mine, lamps tampered with and their keys left with hauliers at the shaft bottom, officials who could scarcely read and write, and an underviewer with too much in his charge.

What happened

Between 400 and 500 colliers came up after the explosion, and a party went down to find the stalls of No. 1 heading blown down and an iron air crossing crumpled like parchment. The dead, from eleven to sixty-two, included the door boy George Morgan, eleven, and John Regan, sixty-two, who left a wife and three children; twelve men survived.

Rescue & recovery

The injured and the dead were carried to the air shaft and brought to the surface. A fund was raised for a presentation to the men who had rescued them.

Investigation & inquiry

The inspectors Thomas Evans and Lionel Brough examined the colliery. Evans placed the ignition in No. 11 stall, and Brough agreed with him and objected strongly to blasting in fiery mines. The jury returned accidental death.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

Unknown.

Changes to practice & legislation

Evans urged heavier punishment than a fine for removing lamp gauzes or tampering with lamps, and that the fireman, not a boy, should examine every lamp before it was issued.

Memorials & commemoration

Unknown.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The Glasgow Herald of 10 November 1860 reported the death of at least nine persons and a large number injured. (uncertain) ³

Recorded claims

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

• Another disaster occurred on 6 November 1860, claiming the lives of 12 men and boys. ^1,2
• The Glasgow Herald of 10 November 1860 reported the death of at least nine persons and a large number injured. (uncertain) ³
• Evans had no doubt the gas ignited in No. 11 stall, six yards in advance of the brattice. ²
• The heading was being driven to supply air to some stalls; the men had just broken into the second stall. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Brattice (contributing factor)
  The stall was ahead of the brattice.
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  Accumulated gas exploded.
• Haulier (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s contributing factors: “…in a fiery mine, lamps tampered with and their keys left with hauliers at the shaft bottom, officials who could scarcely read and write,…”
• Safety Lamp (contributing factor)
  Lamps had been tampered with.
• Stall (contextual relationship)
  The ignition was in No. 11 stall.

Sources

1. (secondary) Lower Duffryn (Cwmpennar), near Mountain Ash — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Lower Duffryn Colliery Explosion - Aberdare - 1860 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Lower Duffryn Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 21 September 2026 · Last researched: 22 September 2026