Black Vein Colliery

Overview

The colliery at Waunfawr near Risca that gave the Black Vein seam its evil name. Opened in the 1840s by John Russell of the Risca Iron and Coal Company to work a seam ten feet thick and gassy enough that pits taking it were called fiery, it had killed men in 1842, 1846, 1849, 1850 and 1853 before the explosion of 1 December 1860 killed over 140 and bankrupted the company. It was known locally as the death pit. It closed for a time when Risca New Pit opened in 1875, was revived, and shut for good in 1921.

History

Two shafts were sunk in 1840 and the colliery was at work by 1842 with 315 employed, opened by John Russell of the Risca Iron and Coal Company to take the Black Vein at 186 yards — a seam averaging ten feet and reaching fourteen or more in places, and gaseous enough that the pits working it across the district were known as fiery pits. It was accident-prone from the start. Three colliers died of a firedamp explosion in 1842. In January 1846 a naked candle flame fired a pocket of gas and killed 35 — four burned, thirty suffocated and one struck by a carriage at the shaft bottom — though miners working elsewhere in the pit felt only a strong current of air. Two men died in 1849; three more, with five badly burned, in 1850; and ten in another explosion in 1853. The colliery became known as the death pit. Mechanical ventilation replaced the furnace in 1858, but naked lights were still in use underground. On 1 December 1860 an explosion in one of the districts driven off the main dip roadway brought down a huge fall that cut the ventilation, trapping the afterdamp that killed most of the victims. It was the worst mining disaster recorded to that date. Twelve bodies were too badly burned or disfigured to identify and were buried without coffins in a communal grave on the mountainside above Risca. The arbitrator afterwards ordered a return to furnace ventilation, saying he did not approve of ventilation by machinery. John Russell sold his home at Piercefield to fund a trust for the families of the dead and moved to Gloucestershire. The colliery passed to T. W. Rhodes, and in 1872 to Watts, Ward & Co., which eventually merged into the London and South Wales Coal Company. Two men were killed by a fall of coal in May 1871. Blackvein closed for a while after Risca New Mine opened in 1875 but was later revived; by 1908 the owners were United National Collieries Ltd with 352 men employed. A serious gob fire broke out in 1918, the miners being praised for their bravery in tackling it, and by that year Blackvein and the New Mine together employed 2,084. The colliery closed in 1921.

Geology

The Black Vein seam of the Monmouthshire coalfield, taken here at 186 yards. It averaged ten feet thick and reached fourteen or more in places, which is what made it worth working, and it gave off gas freely enough that any pit taking it was called a fiery pit. Most of the district's explosions happened in collieries working this seam. The main roadway from the pit bottom followed the natural dip of the seam into the coal basin, with the working districts driven off it — the layout that turned the 1860 explosion into a disaster when a fall in one district cut the ventilation.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Two shafts sunk in 1840, working the Black Vein at 186 yards. From the pit bottom the main roadway followed the dip of the seam into the basin, with districts driven off it. Ventilation was by furnace until 1858, when mechanical means were installed; after the 1860 disaster the arbitrator ordered a return to the furnace. Naked lights were still in use underground in 1860 despite the earlier explosions.

Closure

The colliery closed for a period after Risca New Mine opened in 1875 and was later revived, working on under United National Collieries into the twentieth century before closing in 1921.

What remains

The South Blackvein Industrial Estate now occupies the site. The twelve unidentified dead of 1860 lie in a communal grave on the mountainside above Risca, and plaques commemorate the miners buried at Cwm Byr.

Related mines

• Risca New Pit — Both worked the Black Vein at Risca and were owned together in the twentieth century: Blackvein closed for a time when the New Mine opened in 1875, was revived, and by 1918 the two employed 2,084 men between them.

Nearby mines

• Risca New Pit — 1.1 km NW
• Cwmcarn Colliery — 2.9 km NW
• Celynen Colliery — 3.9 km NW
• Prince of Wales Colliery — 4.1 km NW
• Nine Mile Point Colliery — 4.5 km W

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• Two shafts were sunk in 1840 and the colliery was at work by 1842 with 315 employed, opened by John Russell of the Risca Iron and Coal Company to work the Black Vein seam at 186 yards. ^1,2
• The Black Vein averaged ten feet thick and reached fourteen feet or more in places; it gave off gas so freely that pits working it were known as fiery pits, and many of the district's explosions happened in collieries on this seam. ²
• Welsh Coal Mines gives 146 men and boys killed on 1 December 1860; Wikipedia says more than 140, and other accounts give 142. The exact figure is not settled. (disputed) ^1,2
• The force of the blast brought down a huge fall which cut off the ventilation, trapping the afterdamp that killed the majority of the victims; twelve bodies were too badly burned or disfigured to identify and were buried without coffins in a communal grave on the mountainside above Risca. ²
• Mechanical ventilation had replaced the furnace in 1858, but after the 1860 explosion the arbitrator ordered a return to the furnace system, saying he did not approve of ventilation by machinery. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Risca colliery disasters — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Black Vein Colliery, Risca — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026