Werfa Colliery explosion, 1856

In the spring of 1856 an explosion of gas at naked lights in Werfa Colliery, above Aberdare, killed a collier, Morgan Williams, and his ten-year-old son John, who worked with him. The sources place it on 17 March or 2 April. It was the colliery's third fatal explosion in seven years.

Cause

An explosion of gas, attributed by the NMRS to naked lights.

Recorded claims

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

• Morgan Williams, a collier, and his son John, a collier's boy of ten, were killed by an explosion of gas at Werfa Colliery in 1856. ^1,2
• The NMRS lists John Williams and Morgan Williams, colliers, killed by an explosion of gas on 17 March 1856, and says the explosion was due to naked lights. (disputed) ²
• Welsh Coal Mines' 1856 list gives John Williams, 10, and his father Morgan Williams killed by an explosion of gas on 2 April, two killed; the same list also has a John Williams, collier, killed by an explosion of gas at Werfa on the 17th of the preceding month. (disputed) ¹

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: “In the spring of 1856 an explosion of gas at naked lights in Werfa Colliery, above Aberdare, killed a collier, Morgan Williams, and his…”
• Firedamp (direct cause)
  An explosion of gas.
• Naked Light (direct cause)
  NMRS attributes it to naked lights.

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1856: Ynysdavid Colliery, Cwmavon, explosion of gas, twelve killed — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Werfa Dare Colliery (The Werfa Pits) — Northern Mine Research Society (information supplied by Ray Lawrence)

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