The Cymmer Colliery explosion occurred in the early morning of 15 July 1856 at the Old Pit mine of the Cymmer Colliery near Porth (lower Rhondda Valley), Wales, operated by George Insole & Son. The underground gas explosion resulted in a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country" in which 114 men and boys were killed. Thirty-five widows, ninety-two children, and other dependent relatives were left with no immediate means of support.
The immediate cause of the explosion was defective mine ventilation and the use of naked flames underground. Factors contributing to the explosion included the rapid development of the mine to meet increased demand for coal, poor mine safety practices allowed by management despite official warnings, and deteriorating working relationships between miners and management.
After the explosion, mine owner James Harvey Insole and his officials were accused of "neglecting the commonest precautions for the safety of the men and the safe working of the colliery". At the coroner's inquest into the deaths, Insole deflected responsibility onto his mine manager Jabez Thomas and the jury brought a charge of manslaughter against Thomas and the four other mine officials. To the outrage of the local mining communities, the subsequent criminal proceedings resulted in the exoneration of the mine officials from any blame for the disaster.
The Cymmer Colliery disaster influenced the introduction of mine safety improvements including legislation for improved mine ventilation and the use of safety lamps, employment of children, and qualifications of mine officials. The tragedy highlighted the need for a workable compensation scheme for miners and their dependents to reduce their reliance on public charity after such disasters.
Background George Insole and his son James Harvey Insole purchased the Cymmer Colliery in 1844. In 1847 they sank the No. 1 Pit which, after 1853, became known as the Cymmer Old Pit. James Insole took control of the business on his father's death in 1851.
Between 1852 and 1855, HM Inspector of Mines Herbert Francis Mackworth inspected the colliery twice and sent letters to Insole recommending safety improvements, in particular to the mine's underground ventilation system and the use of safety lamps underground.
Colliers (miners) relied on the colliery firemen's daily reports of gas hazards before entering the mine. In 1854, mine manager Jabez Thomas summarily dismissed two experienced firemen and appointed two others from outside the colliery. The workmen complained to Insole they had no confidence in these replacements. The men's refusal to work under the new firemen, and Insole's insistence on exercising his "authority to dismiss or employ those whom I please, without consulting any body of men", led to a twenty-two week miners' strike. Financial loss and threat of legal action eventually compelled the men to return to work under the new firemen.
By the mid-1800s, the Rhondda variety of coal was in high demand as a coking coal. The Crimean War created additional demand for coal, and in 1855 Insole intensified his mining operations at the Old Pit, doubling the number of colliers and increasing the mine area by over a third. Welsh historian E. D. Lewis concluded that,
It was the success of [the Cymmer Old Pit mine] when developed with such inordinate speed and recklessness by [George Insole's] son, James Harvey Insole, that led directly to the terrible mining disaster of 1856.
Explosion
On Tuesday, 15 July 1856, 160 men and boys descended the Old Pit mine shaft to commence their 6:00 a.m. shift. As they made their way to their workplaces underground, there was an explosion of gas near the mine entrance which trapped the colliers already deeper in the mine. It was three hours before rescuers could reach the site. They found that many of the colliers had congregated in groups to die together as they ran out of air. By that evening, 112 bodies had been recovered, another was brought up the next day, and a severely burnt collier died the following day. In his report to the Secretary of State for the year 1856, Mines Inspector Mackworth described the disaster as "the most lamentable and destructive explosion which had ever occurred in any colliery either in this country or abroad".
Inquest The coroner's inquest into the deaths began on 16 July 1856 in Porth before the North Glamorgan coroner George Overton and a jury of eighteen. It was adjourned to allow the jurors to view the bodies and reconvened eleven days later in Pontypridd. Twenty-nine witnesses were called. The evidence indicated that the explosion resulted from defective mine ventilation and the use of naked flames underground, (Note: both the Davy lamp and Geordie lamp safety lamps had been invented in 1815, and widely used in mines at the time) despite warnings having been sent to the mine owner by Mackworth. He told the inquest that "the explosion arose from the persons in charge of the pit neglecting the commonest precautions for the safety of the men and the safe working of the colliery".
The inquest determined that, apart from the collier who died later of burns, all the deaths were the result of "suffocation, caused by the post-explosion effects of afterdamp or methane poisoning". Among the 114 victims, thirty-four were boys under the age of sixteen and another fifteen were under the age of twelve. Insole, the mine owner, walked free from the inquest after claiming he took "no part in management" of the mine. The mine manager, Jabez Thomas, and the mine's officials, Rowland Rowlands (overman), Morgan Rowlands (fireman), David Jones (fireman), and William Thomas (fireman), were charged with manslaughter for negligence causing the deaths of 114 men.
Surname Forename Age Condition Reported description 1 Evans Matthew 66 suffocated married 2 Evans Philip 22 burnt 3 David Jenkin 32 suffocated 4 Daniel David 25 suffocated married 5 Lewis Thomas 30 burnt married 6 Hugh Evan 24 suffocated brother of John (18) and William (14), the three brothers and Thomas Lewis (30) lodged in the house of Lewis Powell who was unable to go to work that morning from having a day or two before accidentally hurt his arm 7 Hugh John 18 suffocated 8 Hugh William 14 suffocated 9 Griffiths Peter 15 suffocated 10 Griffiths Henry 13 burnt this poor little fellow was literally charred 11 Powell David 13 suffocated 12 Llewellyn William 33 suffocated wife and three children 13 Jenkins Rees brother of John (18) and David (10) 14 Jenkins John 18 suffocated 15 Jenkins David 10 suffocated 16 Thomas David 29 suffocated and bruised 17 Isaac John 17 suffocated 18 Martin William 23 suffocated and bruised 19 Jones Thomas 10 suffocated and bruised 20 Rees Benjamin 42 burnt badly leaving a wife and five children 21 Llewellyn Thomas 28 burnt slightly leaving a wife and four small children 22 Thomas David 17 burnt badly he supported his widowed mother 23 Salathiel Jaconia 18 suffocated and bruised brother of John (14) 24 Salathiel John 14 suffocated and bruised 25 Lewis Thomas 36 suffocated wife and five children 26 Lewis David 22 burnt badly 27 Davies David 15 burnt the mother of this lad depended upon his labour for her support 28 Thomas John 18 burnt very badly 29 Callacott William 12 suffocated 30 Howells Edward 22 suffocated brother of David (17), they kept their mother, a widow at Dinas 31 Howells David 17 burnt 32 Hopkins Thomas 26 burnt badly wife and infant 33 John Joseph 64 burnt leaving a widow and several children all grown up 34 Morgan John 15 suffocated 35 Rees Thomas 36 suffocated married 36 Evans W 17 suffocated and bruised 37 Morgan David 14 suffocated 38 Williams Thomas 38 suffocated wife and four children 39 Rees Richard 27 suffocated wife and one child 40 Davies Thomas 45 suffocated wife and four children depending upon him for support, his son William (12) died with him 41 Davies William 12 suffocated 42 Davies Thomas 46 burnt badly leaving a widow and one child, his three sons William (16) Thos (13) David (10) also killed 43 Davies William 16 burnt badly 44 Davies Thos 13 burnt badly 45 Davies David 10 burnt badly 46 John Isaac 18 suffocated 47 Griffiths George 18 burnt slightly 48 Rees Aaron 23 suffocated wife and one young child 49 Davies William 28 burnt leaving a wife and one child 50 Roberts John 11 burnt 51 Matthews Thomas 40 burnt wife and six children 52 Williams Thomas 40 burnt 53 Jones Billy burnt a young orphan lad, inmate of the same house as Thomas Matthews (40) and Thomas Williams (40) 54 Thomas Gomer 11 suffocated kept his mother who is a widow, her husband having been killed at these works a short time ago 55 Jervis Henry 18 burnt badly 56 Evans John 16 burnt 57 Evans John 12 suffocated 58 Thomas Rees 16 burnt 59 Miles Walter 17 suffocated brother of Richard (10), the two brothers kept their mother. Their father was formerly a fireman at the colliery, but he and the other fireman apprehended danger. They were discharged and the whole of the colliers turned out in consequence. He left to seek a home for his family in Australia leaving strict injunctions during his absence for neither of the boys to work in this colliery or he should not find them alive when he came back or send for them to come out to him. 60 Miles Richard 10 suffocated 61 Davies Hezekiah 37 burnt leaving a widow and two children 62 Davies Thomas 11 burnt 63 Davies Eli 10 suffocated 64 David Morgan 18 suffocated 65 Miles Matthew 11 suffocated 66 Morgan Isaac 18 burnt he supported his mother a widow 67 Morgan David 23 suffocated 68 Lewis Evan 26 burnt badly leaving a widow and one child 69 Evans Morgan 15 suffocated 70 Evans Nathaniel 57 suffocated wife and five children 71 Thomas Daniel 21 burnt badly 72 Davies Thomas 20 suffocated 73 Soloway George 65 suffocated wife and four children two of whom are grown up, his son Henry (13) also killed 74 Soloway Henry 13 burnt 75 Phillips Evan 45 suffocated wife and 4 children 76 Thomas W 19 burnt 77 Andrews Thos 26 suffocated wife and one child 78 James Richard 15 suffocated 79 Morgan Morgan 18 suffocated brother of Enoch (15) and Thomas (12) 80 Morgan Enoch 15 suffocated 81 Morgan Thomas 12 burnt 82 Jones Enoch 22 suffocated brother of Henry (18) 83 Jones Henry 18 suffocated 84 Lewis Daniel 30 suffocated leaving a widow and three children 85 Richards David 34 burnt wife and one child 86 Richards Zacheniah 24 burnt slightly wife and three children 87 Morgan David 17 suffocated 88 Jenkins William 40 suffocated leaving a widow and three children, his son William (12) also killed 89 Jenkins William 12 suffocated 90 Williams William 28 burnt wife and three small children 91 Rees John 11 burnt badly 92 Morgan Morgan 42 suffocated wife and six children 93 Evans Benjamin 14 suffocated 94 Williams John 48 suffocated 95 Williams Daniel 17 suffocated 96 Davies Edward 10 suffocated 97 Edwards Thomas 12 suffocated 98 Morgan William 11 suffocated 99 John David 37 suffocated leaving a widow and three small children, his two sons John (11) and Lazarus (10) also killed 100 John John 11 suffocated 101 John Lazarus 10 suffocated 102 Williams Thomas 15 burnt 103 Davies Thomas 17 suffocated 104 Harris David 15 suffocated 105 Rees William 41 suffocated leaving a widow and four children 106 Edmunds Samuel 37 suffocated leaving a widow and seven children, his son William (11) was clasped fast in his father's arms 107 Edmunds William 11 suffocated 108 Haynes William 12 suffocated 109 Lewis Edward 37 burnt wife and one child, his son Thomas (12) also killed 110 Lewis Thomas 12 suffocated 111 Evans William 46 suffocated wife and one child, his son John (18) also killed 112 Evans John 18 suffocated 113 Thomas Llewellyn 13 burnt badly 114 Evans Morgan 16 burnt badly died the day after he was removed from the pit
Trial