River Level Colliery inrush, 1896

Water broke through from the abandoned, adjoining Ysguborwen colliery into the Gellydeg seam workings of River Level Colliery on 9 December 1896, drowning six men and boys; an inquiry found the barrier between the two collieries had been reduced to a few feet by unrecorded workings on the Ysguborwen side, and that the case for manslaughter against Ysguborwen's managers was strong but unlikely to secure a conviction.

Cause

The neighbouring Ysguborwen colliery, abandoned and flooded since 1895, had in 1872 driven workings that approached to within 8-10 yards of the River Level boundary at one point, according to the deposited plans, leaving what should have been an 11-foot barrier. Investigation after the disaster found the true barrier was only 2 to 4 feet wide where it finally gave way, because a workman on the Ysguborwen side had unknowingly 'struck loose' into River Level's workings in 1892, holing a gap large enough to put a head through -- a fact not shown on the deposited plans and, on the evidence, not reported up the Ysguborwen management chain.

What happened

At about 3.45pm on 9 December 1896, a rider on the engine plane at River Level Colliery found his tram stopped by water running down the plane -- the first sign of an inrush from the abandoned Ysguborwen workings into the Gellydeg seam. Around 120 men were below ground at the time. The manager, Rees Howells -- only ten weeks into the post -- and a surveyor who had gone below for a forgotten tool found the shaft bottom already several feet deep in water; they raised the alarm and, together with the fireman David Evans, broke down an air bridge to reach the return airway and lead men out. Evans warned a large number of men in the No.5 West Level before attempting to reach No.6 West Level, where his own son was working, but could not get through the rising water. Twelve men waded out of No.5 West Level through water that filled the roadway to the roof soon after; others escaped from No.6 West Level, the lowest point in the workings, without realising at first that six of their number -- all from No.6 West Level -- had been left behind. During the night, the source was traced to the Ysguborwen workings via the abandoned Drain Level; once the blocked level was partly cleared, the water reverted to its normal course and the inrush stopped.

Rescue & recovery

A diver from Cardiff examined conditions and declined to attempt the recovery; divers sent from the Bute Docks made several attempts but found the conditions too dangerous, the Mines Inspector later noting the real risk to any diver had the more than 100 yards of air pipe used been cut or snagged. Pumping ran around the clock. Fourteen days after the inundation, on 23 December, the water in No.6 West Level was pumped clear and the bodies of all six were found together in a narrow airway at the highest point of the workings, which the water had never quite reached; a stopped watch showed they had drowned within a few hours of the water first breaking in.

Investigation & inquiry

H.M. Inspector of Mines J.T. Robson reached the colliery with a second Inspector on the night of the disaster. The adjourned inquest, held on 20-21 January 1897, heard that a workman on the Ysguborwen side, John Hopkins, had 'struck loose' into River Level's workings in 1892 -- a hole he said he reported to the fireman, which the fireman denied having been told, though he admitted seeing the hole; the Ysguborwen manager and undermanager denied any knowledge of it. The Inspector found no breach of the Coal Mines Regulation Act by anyone connected with River Level, and noted that a double road through the fault near No.6 West Level, though not legally required, would almost certainly have let the six men escape. Barrister Robert Woodfall, who attended on the Inspector's behalf, concluded in a formal opinion that Ysguborwen's managers, Samuel Richard Hopkins and Evan Jones, and the fireman Thomas Davies, were 'guilty of culpable omission of discharge of duty tending to the preservation of life, and, consequently, of the manslaughter of the six men drowned' -- but that a conviction would be difficult to obtain because 'the recklessness shown is so common in mining'.

Legal & regulatory aftermath

No prosecution has been found in the sources read for this pass, consistent with Woodfall's own assessment that one was unlikely to succeed.

Memorials & commemoration

No memorial has been found for this disaster.

Recorded claims

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

• NMRS gives Thomas Jenkins's age as 14; Welsh Coal Mines gives 18. All other names and ages agree between the two accounts. (disputed) ^1,2

Related terminology

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

• Fireman (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the narrative: “…feet deep in water; they raised the alarm and, together with the fireman David Evans, broke down an air bridge to reach the return airway and…”
• Holing (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “…had unknowingly 'struck loose' into River Level's workings in 1892, holing a gap large enough to put a head through -- a fact not shown on the…”
• Inrush (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “…tram stopped by water running down the plane -- the first sign of an inrush from the abandoned Ysguborwen workings into the Gellydeg seam.…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named 15 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Ysguborwen colliery into the Gellydeg seam workings of River Level Colliery on 9 December 1896, drowning six men and boys; an inquiry…”
• Return Airway (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…with the fireman David Evans, broke down an air bridge to reach the return airway and lead men out. Evans warned a large number of men in the No.5…”

Sources

1. (secondary) River Level Colliery Aberdare (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) River Level Colliery Inrush - Abernant - 1896 — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026