Ynyshir House Colliery explosion, 1857

An explosion of gas at the Ynyshir colliery in the Rhondda Fach on 18 March 1857 killed four miners: Morgan Butler, David Howells, John Parry and William Williams.

Cause

An explosion of gas (firedamp).

What happened

On 18 March 1857 an explosion of gas at the Ynyshir colliery, the first pit in Ynyshir and one of the first in the Rhondda Fach, killed four miners: Morgan Butler, a collier, David Howells, John Parry and William Williams. The owner of the colliery that year is recorded as the Rev. D. W. Williams; Francis Crawshay had taken it in 1856, and it later passed to Thomas Jones as the Jones Navigation Colliery.

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 colliery's owner in 1857 is recorded as the Rev. D. W. Williams. (uncertain) ^1,4,5

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 the Ynyshir colliery on 18 March 1857 killed four men. ^1,2,3
• The dead were Morgan Butler, David Howells, John Parry and William Williams. ^1,4,3,5
• The colliery's owner in 1857 is recorded as the Rev. D. W. Williams. (uncertain) ^1,4,5

Related terminology

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

• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “An explosion of gas at the Ynyshir colliery in the Rhondda Fach on 18 March 1857 killed four miners: Morgan…”
• Firedamp (contextual relationship)
  Named in this record’s cause: “An explosion of gas (firedamp).”

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this disaster.

Sources

1. (secondary) 1850s B: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's list of mining victims)
2. (secondary) Lady Lewis Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: fatalities 1857 — Welsh Coal Mines
4. (secondary) 1850s W: Ian Winstanley's alphabetical list of mining victims — Healey Hero
5. (secondary) Healey Hero: mining victims 1850-1859, P (John Parry, Ynyshir, 18 March 1857) — Healey Hero (Ian Winstanley's mining victims lists)

Record created: 9 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026