Wynnstay Colliery

Overview

A Denbighshire coalfield colliery at Ruabon, worked from 1856 to 1927 by the New British Iron Company, struck by three separate fatal firedamp explosions within a single decade that killed thirty men and boys in total.

History

Wynnstay Colliery opened in 1856 at The Green, Ruabon, the property of the New British Iron Company, and worked until 1927. Across a single decade the colliery suffered three separate, fatal firedamp explosions. On 9 December 1863, a fireman firing a shot in an upbrow ignited gas, killing thirteen men and boys and injuring six more; ventilation in the affected workings depended on a single door separating intake and return air currents, and the incident was reported in the Mines Inspector's report for that year and in the Colliery Guardian. On 30 September 1868, a further explosion killed ten men after a ventilation door was removed and replaced with a brick stopping; the Inspector, Peter Higson, suspected the affected workings had already been fouled with gas while the door was absent, and that restoring ventilation carried the accumulated gas to an ignition source whose exact nature was never established. On 24 April 1873, a third explosion killed seven men and boys after shot holes were found to have been insufficiently bored and improperly rammed, allowing gas from two shots fired in sequence to ignite; Assistant Inspector of Mines Thomas Bell recommended that all shot holes be examined by a competent person before powder was inserted, to prevent a recurrence.

Geology

Coal of the Denbighshire field at Ruabon, gassy enough to be worked with locked safety lamps under a designated fireman.

Workings

Worked with locked safety lamps and gunpowder shot-firing for extraction after seams had been holed, under a designated fireman responsible for igniting shots.

Closure

Closed in 1927.

What remains

The colliery's winding engine house, built around 1855 in ashlar-faced sandstone, survives as a Grade II* listed building and Scheduled Monument; its stonework, kneelers and coping are substantially intact and cast-iron fittings and engine mounting blocks survive inside, though the roof is gone. The neighbouring Walker Fan House is also a Scheduled Monument. The site was offered for sale in 2025 as a part-developed plot with a small residential bungalow, its grounds otherwise given over to self-seeded trees and scrub.

The winding engine house (Grade II*/Scheduled Monument) and the Walker Fan House (Scheduled Monument), plus two smaller workshop buildings.

Disasters & major incidents

• Wynnstay Colliery Explosion (1863)
  9 December 1863 · Explosion · 13 fatalities
  A fireman firing a shot in an upbrow ignited accumulated gas, killing thirteen men and boys and injuring six more -- the first of three fatal explosions to strike this colliery within a decade.
• Wynnstay Colliery Explosion (1868)
  30 September 1868 · Explosion · 10 fatalities
  An explosion following the replacement of a ventilation door with a brick stopping killed ten men -- the second of three fatal explosions to strike this colliery within a decade.
• Wynnstay Colliery shot accident, 1869
  13 March 1869 · Explosion · 4 fatalities
  Four men died of burns at the New British Iron Company's Wynnstay Colliery, Ruabon, on 13 March 1869 when a shot blew out in the main coal.
• Wynnstay Colliery Explosion (1873)
  24 April 1873 · Explosion · 7 fatalities
  Insufficiently bored and improperly rammed shot holes let gas from two shots ignite, killing seven men and boys -- the third of three fatal explosions to strike this colliery within a decade.
• Wynnstay Colliery fall of coal, 1897
  22 September 1897 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 2 fatalities
  A contractor and his loader at Wynnstay Colliery, Ruabon, were crushed on 22 September 1897 when four yards of coal he was wedging down came away from a slip.

Recorded claims

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

• On 9 December 1863, a fireman firing a shot in an upbrow ignited gas, killing thirteen men and boys and injuring six more. ¹
• On 30 September 1868, an explosion killed ten men after a ventilation door was removed and replaced with a brick stopping; Inspector Peter Higson suspected the workings had already been fouled with gas while the door was absent. ^2,1
• On 24 April 1873, an explosion killed seven men and boys after shot holes were found insufficiently bored and improperly rammed, allowing gas from two shots fired in sequence to ignite; Assistant Inspector Thomas Bell recommended all shot holes be examined by a competent person before powder was inserted. ¹
• The winding engine house, about 10 metres square and originally some 15 metres to the gable, retains its ashlar stonework, kneelers, coping, some window frames, internal timbers and cast-iron engine-mounting fittings, though its roof no longer survives. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Wynstay disasters (death roll) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Wynstay Colliery Explosion - Ruabon - 1868 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Wynnstay Colliery Winding Engine House — Cadw (Historic Wales) via AncientMonuments.uk

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026