Primrose Colliery Suffocation – Swansea – 1858

PRIMROSE. Swansea, Glamorganshire.13th. October, 1858.

The colliery was the property of Messrs Morgan and Lewis and the Primrose Coal Company and was at Pontadrawe, about 9 miles from Swansea and, at the time, was the most extensive colliery in the Swansea Valley Ten men and boys were suffocated by vapours from the engine boiler.

At about 6 a.m. some men came from the pit saying, “The whole place is full of sulphur and the men and boys are being killed.” Within half an hour there was a crowd of anxious women at the pit head waiting for news. There was no shortage of volunteers to go into the pit and William Lewis aged 60 years, who was married with several children and Griffiths Gibbs age 18 years went into the mine with David Thomas, the overman. Lewis and Gibbs were overcome by fumes and Thomas was recovered but unconscious.

Thomas Morgan rushed for his life out of the pit with his young son who he retied to carry under his arm but had to leave him due to the fumes. When the air cleared, men went into the pit to recover the bodies.

The men who died were:

• David Evans aged 38 years, married with five children,
• John Gibb aged 36 years married with two children,
• David Hogging aged 32 years, married with one child,
• Griffith Jones aged 19 years, single,
• John Llewellyn Rees aged 25 years, single,
• W. Thomas aged 18 years, single,
• John Davies aged 17 years, single,
• Isaac Davies aged 11 or 12 years, door boy,
• Morgan Gibbs and William Lewis aged 60 years, widower with several married children.
• David Evans,

Thomas Morgan were recovered near to death but recovered.

Seven horses that were in the mine were also lost.

The inquest took place before Mr. Alexander Cuthbertson, Coroner for Neath. John Evans, collier described that he had to leave his son in the mine and William Williams, the fireman said that about a week before the accident, an engine had been taken underground to raise coal. The air to the engine’s boiler was the return air and the smoke went up the upcast shaft. a door had been fixed there to prevent the smoke going into the workings.

It emerged that there were breaches of the rules at the colliery when the Inspector questioned the witnesses. The jury considered the evidence and returned the following verdict:

Accidental death through the door being left open by a person unknown, and expressed the opinion that some or one of the colliers opened the door out of curiosity and let in the deadly gas.

REFERENCES
Mines Inspectors Report, 1857. Mr. Thomas Evans.
The Colliery Guardian, 13th October 1858. p.248.
“And they worked us to death” Vol.1. Ben Fieldhouse and Jackie Dunn. Gwent Family History Society.

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