Morfa Colliery Explosion – Port Talbot – 1870

MORFA. Port Talbot, Glamorganshire. 14th. February, 1870.

Morfa Colliery was the property of Messrs. Vivian and Sons and was sunk to the outcrop of the coal measures where the coal lay at a great angle and gave off large quantities of inflammable gas. The colliery had been worked for many years and had two shafts, an upcast 200 yards deep with an area of 78.5 square feet which was used exclusively for ventilating purposes and a downcast 150 yards deep with an area of 85 square feet through which all the coal and men were raised. The workings were on the “Lancashire mode”, driving two levels out to the boundary or to some definite distance and the bringing back all the coal and so leaving behind the goaf or old works behind.

The ventilation was by a large furnace placed near the bottom of the upcast shaft and the quantity of air passing into the colliery was about 90,000 cubic feet of air per minute. With the exception of 300 to 400 yards of the principle road next to the downcast shaft, where 50,000 to 60,000 cubic feet of air were passing per minute, the colliery was worked exclusively with locked lamps and shot firing was strictly prohibited.

The firemen whose duties were to examine the whole of the workings before the colliers went to work, had returned and pronounced all safe and the workmen began to descend between 6 and 7 a.m. When from 50 to 60 men had been let down there was a terrific explosion which greatly damaged the shaft and headgear which prevented the cages form working. This caused great delay and it was necessary to fond another way to get down the pit and to raise the inured and the dead.

Mr. Wales reached the colliery a few hours after the explosion and descended the pit to advise as to the best means of removing the injured to the surface as well as to make an examination of the colliery As far as it was practicable to do so and to try to find the cause of the blast.

There was an explosion and Mr. Gray the manager went down the pit and found that the store of gunpowder had exploded which cause the deaths of twenty-nine men and boys who were working in the pit. On the 25th February while work was proceeding to repair the colliery there was another explosion caused by firedamp out of the ten that were down the pit, none were seriously injured. Mr. Gray was of the opinion that the explosion was one of gunpowder and not of firedamp.

The married men who died were:

• Thomas Blatworthy.
• Benjamin Coade.
• Jeremiah Crocker.
• William Crowning.
• James Davies.
• Henry Francis.
• Thomas Francis.
• Mike Grace.
• John Hall.
• William Harris.
• Daniel Hicks.
• John Hurley.
• Henry Jones.
• Andrew Manning.
• Robert Peel.
• Thomas Pargoe.
• Thomas Thomas.
• John Vanstone.
• Thomas Vanstone.
• John Waters.
• John Williams.
• Thomas Williams.

Those who were single were:

• John Manning,
• William Cardon,
• William Bennett.

In his report, Mr. Wales said:

On examining the colliery I found that the effects of the explosion had been almost confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the shaft, where the destruction both of life and property was very great. This at once gave us a clue as to where the explosion had begun, but as no coal had been worked for many years near that part, and the large quantity of air was passing, it was almost impossible to conceive where there could have been any gas accumulated, much less so large a quantity as would produce the terrible effects which were visible on all sides.

At the time of the explosion, the working shaft was being sunk to a greater depth and large quantities of gunpowder were used and it appeared that it was not unusual to have large quantities stored near the bottom of the working shaft. This gave rise to the opinion that this was an explosion of gunpowder only and not of gas.

On the 21st February, just a week after the first explosion, another occurred near the bottom of the shaft, burning several men, but only slightly. This second explosion was clearly an explosion of gas which threw some light on the first blast and gave a clue as to how both had occurred.

As the colliery had been extensively worked the old goaves were filled with gas. Up to the August prior the explosion there was a communication between the two drifts from the bottom of the shaft to one of those goaves which was about 40 acres in extent and from which gas constantly issued, but a sufficient quantity of air was borne along those drifts to dilute the gas but as the air then mixed with gas had to pass to naked lights and so cause the explosions. To remedy the situation is was necessary to fill up these drifts which it was thought would stop the gas escaping from the 40 acre goaf. The gas was so confined and from August to February, the Inspector believed the pressure became so great that it forced its was through the stowing in one of the drifts, passed down a staple to an underwater drift and after filling it, passed up another staple and was ignited at one of the men’s open lights or at an open gas light which was burning at the bottom of the shaft.

Mr. Wales commented:

The practice of shutting up or barring of gas is highly dangerous and certainly against the approved principles of mining at the present day, as it had been found that the pressure of the confined gas will sooner or later become so great as to find vent somewhere, and not infrequently when and where least expected, as I believe was the case in this instance.

When the inquiry into the disaster was started, three bodies had not been recovered. It emerged that there was gaslighting at the bottom of the shaft and the gas was made on the surface and piped down the shaft. John Davies said he was in charge of the lighting in the Cribbwr Drift. It was the duty of the last man to leave to turn off the gas at the bottom of the shaft and sometimes this was not done.

Henry Williams, colliery of Abercarne went to work on the morning of the explosion with Samuel Francis, William Thomas and Henry James in the Nine Feet workings when the explosion occurred between 3 and 400 yards from the pit bottom. He heard nothing but saw a mass of flames coming from the drift that led to the Cribbwr. He was rendered unconscious and lost his light. When he came to he heard groans and felt a body but the afterdamp was strong and he made his way to the pit bottom.

James Page was also down the pit when the explosion occurred and was also down when the second explosion occurred when he was repairing the water pump. John Dyer lost his brother in the disaster and was struck by the blast on the right side of his face. He gave evidence swathed in bandages and a patch over his eye.

The main issue was to decide if it was an explosion of firedamp or gunpowder and the jury brought in the following verdict:

We find that there was an explosion of firedamp in the west stables and there is no one to blame. This is the verdict fifteen with two dissenters.

After the inquest work continued at the colliery to deepen the shaft to 400 yards and the three remaining bodies were found in July in the water and debris at the bottom of the shaft.

In his Report for 1870, Mr. Wales said:

The evidence given at the inquest, which was of a most protracted one, was very contradictory and unsatisfactory upon several important points but after a most careful consideration of the evidence as well as from my inspection of the colliery, I am of the opinion that the explosion was due to gas passing from the 40-acre goaf to a naked light near the bottom of the shaft.

 I consider it of the greatest importance in the ventilation of collieries that there should always be a proper communication is maintained between all goaves to old workings in which gas is generated at the return airways, at a sufficient distance from the furnace not only to allow the gas to escape freely and without pressure, but also to have it properly diluted before reaching the ventilating furnace and where proper provision is not made for this on the opening of a colliery, it is often most difficult and indeed occasionally impossible to do it afterwards.

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1870. Mr. Wales.
Colliery Guardian 11th February 1870, p.140, 18th February 1870, p.170, 25th February 1870, p.204, 4th March 1870 p.234, 1st April 1870, p.341, 22nd April 1870, p.408, 1st July 1870, p.13.
”And they worked us to death” Vol.2. Ben Fieldhouse and Jackie Dunn. Gwent Family History Society.

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