MineArchiveMeiros Colliery explosion, 1891
An explosion of firedamp at Meiros Colliery, Llanharan, on the morning of 11 November 1891 killed two colliers and a boy as they reached their stall.
| Date | 11 November 1891 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Meiros Colliery |
| Region | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Type | Explosion |
| Fatalities | 3 (Three: John Parsons and Thomas Davies, colliers, and the boy Daniel Lewis. The colliery's death list gives their ages as 30, 40 and 15; the 1891 fatality list as 25, 41 and 14.) |
| Context | During active mining |
Cause
An explosion of firedamp in John Hunt's heading, in a seam worked with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace.
Contributing factors
The air pressure had fallen sharply in the night, and the manager had warned the fireman to watch the barometer and to take care where falls might release gas. At 5 a.m. the fireman found no gas at the working places but some firedamp at the mouth of the heading, about 40 yards away, where two faults could let it escape.
What happened
Meiros was then working a seam called the Lantern, about 90 yards deep, with some 200 men, naked lights and a ventilating furnace. Overnight the barometer had dropped considerably, and the manager told the fireman, Samuel Shillaber, to keep an eye on it and to watch for falls that might give off gas. On his 5 a.m. round Shillaber found the working places clear but some firedamp at the mouth of the heading. At about 7.30 he felt a check in the air and, with the overman Morgan Jones and another man, went towards John Hunt's heading, where they met the boy Daniel Lewis coming out with the two men behind him. 'Sam, we are burned, very bad,' Thomas Davies told him. The gas had fired as they approached their stall; Davies's son escaped because he had just gone back for the tools. John Parsons, Thomas Davies and Daniel Lewis all died.
What's uncertain
Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.
- Parsons was 30, Davies 40 and Lewis 15. (disputed) 1,2
- Parsons was 25, Davies 41 and Lewis 14. (disputed) 3
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 on 11 November 1891 killed John Parsons, Thomas Davies and Daniel Lewis. 1,2,3
- Parsons was 30, Davies 40 and Lewis 15. (disputed) 1,2
- Parsons was 25, Davies 41 and Lewis 14. (disputed) 3
- The seam was worked with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace, and the barometer had fallen sharply in the night. 3
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Firedamp (contextual relationship)
Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion of firedamp at Meiros Colliery, Llanharan, on the morning of 11 November 1891…” - Fireman (contextual relationship)
Named 3 times in this record, first in the contributing factors: “…had fallen sharply in the night, and the manager had warned the fireman to watch the barometer and to take care where falls might release…” - Naked Light (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the cause: “…explosion of firedamp in John Hunt's heading, in a seam worked with naked lights and ventilated by a furnace.” - Overman (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s narrative: “…the heading. At about 7.30 he felt a check in the air and, with the overman Morgan Jones and another man, went towards John Hunt's heading,…” - Stall (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…11 November 1891 killed two colliers and a boy as they reached their stall.”
Sources
- (secondary) Merios Collery [Meiros Colliery] (Northern Mine Research Society) — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Meiros Colliery (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: fatalities, 1891 — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026