MineArchiveWerfa Colliery shaft accident, 1851
| Date | 4 September 1851 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Werfa Colliery |
| Region | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Type | Winding / Shaft Accident |
| Fatalities | 14 (Welsh Coal Mines names fourteen: John Perkins, 36; David Humphrey, 29, and Thomas Humphrey, 11; Thomas Lewis, 27; John Rogers, 35; David Williams, 20; Richard Humphrey, 37; William Jones, 28; Rees Morgan, 41, who left eight children; David Watkins, 27; Thomas Griffiths, 17; David Lewis, 22; William Cole, 16; John Anthony, 13. John Rogers, Rees Morgan and Thomas Griffiths were in the ascending cage. The NMRS gives sixteen.) |
| Context | During active mining (The early-morning change of shift at Nixon's Werfa Colliery above Aberdare, where men rode water-balance cages hung on a chain.) |
At seven in the morning on Thursday 4 September 1851 the chain snapped in the balance pit at Werfa Colliery above Aberdare, and both cages fell down the shaft, 180 feet. Eleven men and boys were in the descending cage and two or three in the ascending one. Word spread quickly through the neighbourhood, but the waiting crowd soon learned that every man had been killed instantly: fourteen by Welsh Coal Mines' count, sixteen by the NMRS.
Cause
The chain of the water-balance winding broke, dropping the cages down the shaft.
What happened
The men were being wound in the balance pit, one cage descending with eleven aboard and the other ascending, when the chain snapped. News reached the neighbourhood at once, and a crowd gathered at the pit, but it was quickly passed out that all were dead, killed instantly by the 180-foot fall.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- At 7 a.m. on 4 September 1851 a chain broke in the balance pit at Werfa Colliery and sent the cages 180 feet down the shaft; eleven of the dead were in the descending cage and the rest in the ascending one. 1,2
- Welsh Coal Mines gives fourteen killed and names fourteen, though its colliery page also says eleven miners including three boys and puts three in the ascending cage while its 1851 list says two; NMRS says sixteen. (disputed) 1,3,2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Cage (direct cause)
Both cages fell when the chain broke. - Colliery (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…4 September 1851 the chain snapped in the balance pit at Werfa Colliery above Aberdare, and both cages fell down the shaft, 180 feet. Eleven…” - Shaft (contextual relationship)
Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…pit at Werfa Colliery above Aberdare, and both cages fell down the shaft, 180 feet. Eleven men and boys were in the descending cage and two…” - Water Balance (relevant method/equipment)
The men rode water-balance cages.
Sources
- (secondary) Werfa — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1851 — Welsh Coal Mines
- (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