Tylecoch Colliery shaft accident, 1857

Three masons walling the new Tylecoch shaft at Treorchy were killed in February 1857 when a load of bricks fell on them from the pit top.

Cause

A load of bricks being lowered from the surface fell down the shaft onto the men walling it.

What happened

Carr, Morrison and Company began the Tylecoch pit at Treorchy in 1854. In February 1857 five men were at work walling the shaft, with the banksman at the top lowering the bricks and other materials they needed. One evening, between five and six o'clock, a load of some three hundred bricks fell from the top and landed on the three men at the bottom of the shaft, killing them at once; the other two were seriously hurt. The dead were the masons Henry Grant, 28, John Howell, 24, and Peter Rogers, 32. Welsh Coal Mines dates the accident to 5 February; the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian of 7 February put it on the Friday, the 6th.

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 accident happened on 5 February 1857. (uncertain) ¹
• The accident happened on Friday 6 February 1857, between five and six in the evening. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Three masons were killed and two other men seriously injured while the shaft of Carr, Morrison and Company's Tylecoch pit, Treorchy, was being walled in February 1857. ^1,2
• A load of bricks being lowered to the men walling the shaft fell from the top and struck those at the bottom. ^1,2
• The accident happened on 5 February 1857. (uncertain) ¹
• The accident happened on Friday 6 February 1857, between five and six in the evening. (uncertain) ²
• The dead were Henry Grant, 28, John Howell, 24, and Peter Rogers, 32. ¹

Related terminology

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

• Banksman (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…In February 1857 five men were at work walling the shaft, with the banksman at the top lowering the bricks and other materials they needed. One…”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s narrative: “…masons Henry Grant, 28, John Howell, 24, and Peter Rogers, 32. Welsh Coal Mines dates the accident to 5 February; the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian…”
• Heapstead (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s summary: “…killed in February 1857 when a load of bricks fell on them from the pit top.”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “Three masons walling the new Tylecoch shaft at Treorchy were killed in February 1857 when a load of bricks fell…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Tylecoch Colliery, Treorchy — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Frightful accident at a colliery: Tilla Coch coal-works (Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, 7 February 1857) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026