Tondu Colliery shaft rope accident, 1859

Two sinkers were killed at John Brogden and Sons' Tondu Colliery, near Bridgend, on 27 October 1859 when the rope they were riding broke at a joint.

Cause

The rope broke at a joint.

What happened

On 27 October 1859 two sinkers at Tondu Colliery, then owned by John Brogden and Sons, were killed when the winding rope broke at a joint. They were Owen Jones, aged 32, and Seth Davies, aged 28. The colliery's record of deaths over the following decade, mostly single colliers killed by falls of roof and coal, includes another sinker who fell down the shaft in December 1865.

Recorded claims

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

• On 27 October 1859 two men were killed at Tondu Colliery, Bridgend, when a rope broke at a joint. ^1,2
• The dead were Owen Jones, aged 32, and Seth Davies, aged 28, both sinkers. ^2,3,4
• The colliery was owned at the time by John Brogden and Sons. ^2,3
• On 26 December 1865 another sinker at Tondu Colliery, Richard Jones, aged 26, fell down the shaft and was killed. 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: “Two sinkers were killed at John Brogden and Sons' Tondu Colliery, near Bridgend, on 27 October 1859 when the rope they were riding…”
• Roof Fall (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…deaths over the following decade, mostly single colliers killed by falls of roof and coal, includes another sinker who fell down the shaft in…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…by falls of roof and coal, includes another sinker who fell down the shaft in December 1865.”
• Shaft Sinking (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “Two sinkers were killed at John Brogden and Sons' Tondu Colliery, near Bridgend,…”
• Winding Rope (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…Colliery, then owned by John Brogden and Sons, were killed when the winding rope broke at a joint. They were Owen Jones, aged 32, and Seth Davies,…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1859 — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Mining deaths 1850-1859, surnames D (Ian Winstanley) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining deaths lists)
3. (secondary) Ian Winstanley, Alphabetical List of Mining Victims in Great Britain 1850-1859, J — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's lists)
4. (secondary) Tondu Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

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