Tylecoch Colliery explosion, 1866

On 21 August 1866 the mining engineer William Bedlington of Whitchurch, about 57, and Enoch Francis, the owner's contractor, were killed by an explosion of firedamp while examining the long-disused Four Foot level of Tylecoch Colliery in the Rhondda Fawr. The day before, gas had stopped Bedlington finishing his survey.

Cause

Firedamp had gathered in the old Four Foot workings, where the furnace was only occasionally lit, and was fired by a light; an unlocked lamp was found near the bodies.

What happened

Messrs Carr and Morris had sunk only to the Four Foot vein. Thomas Jones of Cardiff bought the colliery at the end of 1865 and deepened the shaft about 80 yards to the Eight and Nine Feet veins, reached about two months before the explosion. On Monday 20 August Bedlington and Francis spent an hour and a half in the Four Foot level and came up saying firedamp had prevented the examination. They went down again on the Tuesday, and a little over an hour later the explosion took place.

Rescue & recovery

The bodies were brought out between two and three o'clock on the Wednesday morning, not much burned.

Investigation & inquiry

The adjourned inquest was held at the Cardiff Arms Inn, Ystradyfodwg, before George Overton, coroner, with T. E. Wales, Government Inspector of Mines, and Bedlington's nephew, J. Bedlington of the Rhymney Iron Works, present.

Recorded claims

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

• An explosion of gas at Tylecoch Colliery, Treorchy, killed the mining engineer William Bedlington and Enoch Francis. ^1,2
• The explosion was on Tuesday 21 August 1866. ¹
• Bedlington had been engaged to examine the old Four Foot level, which had not been worked for years; he had been driven back by firedamp the day before. ²
• Their bodies were not recovered until early the next morning; a locked lamp and a naked lamp were found beside them. ²

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…while examining the long-disused Four Foot level of Tylecoch Colliery in the Rhondda Fawr. The day before, gas had stopped Bedlington…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named 3 times in this record, first in the summary: “…Francis, the owner's contractor, were killed by an explosion of firedamp while examining the long-disused Four Foot level of Tylecoch…”
• HM Chief Inspector of Mines (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s investigation: “…before George Overton, coroner, with T. E. Wales, Government Inspector of Mines, and Bedlington's nephew, J. Bedlington of the Rhymney Iron Works,…”
• Level (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…an explosion of firedamp while examining the long-disused Four Foot level of Tylecoch Colliery in the Rhondda Fawr. The day before, gas had…”
• Vein (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the narrative: “Messrs Carr and Morris had sunk only to the Four Foot vein. Thomas Jones of Cardiff bought the colliery at the end of 1865 and…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Glamorgan colliery fatalities, 1866 — Welsh Coal Mines website
2. (primary) The Cardiff Times, 31 August 1866: The fatal colliery explosion in the Rhondda Valley, inquest on Mr Bedlington — Welsh Newspapers Online (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026