HENDREFORGAN. Swansea Valley, Glamorganshire. 11th. November 1869.

The colliery was the property of Mr. Alexander Bain and was in the Parish of Ystradqunarlis in the Swansea Valley. On the morning of the disaster, thirteen men and boys went to work and had only just begun when an explosion was heard A vast number of people gathered around the pit head. It was feared that all had lost their lives and a party was organised and a search made. In a short time, three men were brought up exhausted. Four others were subsequently rescued and five bodies brought to the surface.

All work in the valley was suspended and the explosion caused a sensation as there had not been an explosion in the valley for a large number of years and the anthracite coal that was worked at the colliery did not give off gas.

The colliery had a sloping engine plane or “bully”, dipping at 12 to 20 inches to the yard, 400 yards long which intersected six or seven coal seams. The colliery worked the Little Vein, the Big Vein and the Brass Vein seams and the explosion occurred in the latter.

The colliery was worked for the most part with open lamps and it was ventilated by a furnace at the bottom of the upcast shaft which passed only 3,600 cubic feet of air per minute around the workings. A few days before the explosion the ventilation of the colliery had been changed and a stopping was not placed and the same air ventilated the three workings in succession and did not have a separate system for each.

All the victims were listed as colliers:

  • Richard Nicholas aged 36 years who left a wife and six children,
  • William Hopkins aged 30 years who left a wife and two children,
  • Thomas Evan Jones aged 25 years,
  • David J. Davies aged 20 years,
  • David Jones aged 19 years,
  • Samuel Arthur aged 11 years, who was probably a drawer or worked on the haulage.

The inquest was held before Mr. Edward Strick, Coroner at the Ystalyfera Hotel, and was complicated since some of the victims lived in Carmarthenshire and some in Glamorganshire. The jury was sworn and viewed three bodies on which the inquest was held.

Evidence was given that there had been no gas seen in the mine which worked the Brass Vein and Big Vein Seams. Samuel Jones had worked at the colliery since 1871 and was one of the survivors. He heard the explosion and he went to leave the pit. Thomas Jones was waiting for him and asked for a light. He lifted his lamp to the roof to test for gas and finding none, opened it, and gave Jones a light. They went to the bottom of the drift where they heard people calling for a light. He answered and said that would come as soon as he could. They went on and found William Hopkins near the shaft bottom with his clothes blown to rags. David Evans joined them and went ahead. Jones went on slowly leaving Hopkins who was unable to walk. He was followed by Samuel Arthur, David Jones, and Thomas Jones. They found David Davies caught in some timber with his clothes burned off him and released him. William Hopkins was crawling on his hands and knees. Samuel then found that there was gas in the pit and it put out his lamp and he went on alone telling the others to wait. As he felt his way along, he thought he was getting drunk but was being affected by the gas but he managed to get to the mouth of the drift and found David Evans who had got out and the engineman was putting oil on his burns. They went to the overman, Enoch Howell and in the company of others, they went into the drift. On the way they met William Hopkins and his brother coming up. Jones found the gas almost suffocating him and as soon as they returned they were helped by others.

At the inquest into the deaths of the men, the jury returned a verdict of “Accidental Death” and recommended that the coroner severely reprimand Mr. Alexander Bain for entrusting the management of the colliery to an incompetent person.

Mr. Wales, the Inspector commented:

In my opinion, the quantity of air was much too small for the proper and safe ventilation of the colliery and its distribution or application was most defective so much so that the gas in the old workings was allowed to pass onto the bully where doubtless it came into contact with a naked light and caused the explosion.

After the jury had returned their verdict and recommendations Mr. Wales said:

I will strongly recommend that the colliery at once be placed under the care of an experienced mining engineer that the quantity of air is increased to 12,000 or 15,000 feet per minute and that the workings in each vein of coal be supplied with a fresh current of air to each.

 

REFERENCES
The Mines Inspectors Report 1869. Mr. Lionel Brough.
The Colliery Guardian, 12th November 1869, p.469, 19th November 1869, p.496, 26th November 1869, p.519.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.

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