VOCHRHIW. Dowlais, Glamorganshire. 8th. January, 1870.

The Deep Pit was owned by The Dowlais Company and was a very large colliery employing 600 men and boys. The shafts, of which there were two, were 400 yards deep. No.1 was used for coal winding and No.2 for winding men and horses. The No.1 shaft had had a spiral drum installed which was approved by the Inspectors and there had been an accident when the rope broke about two months before this accident but no one was injured in this incident. Mr. Wales, the Inspector, found the rope had overlapped on the drum and the resulting strain had caused the rope to break. He also found that the angle between the rope and the pulley above the shaft should not exceed ten to eleven degrees and in the first accident was found to be fifteen degrees.

Mr. Truran was the engineer at the colliery and John Llewellyn was the engine winder on the day of the accident. On that day colliers were being brought up the No. 2 shaft between six and seven p.m. as usual and at 5 p.m. a cage load was within 27 yards of the top when the rope overlapped again and the rope broke sending the men to their deaths.

Those who died were:

  • Morgan Thomas, overman aged 32 years,
  • Thomas Rees aged 44 years,
  • Hugh Thomas aged 32 years,
  • Absalom Andrew aged 22 years,
  • David Davies aged 15 years.

The inquest into the disaster was held by Mr. George Overton at the Bush Inn, Dowlais when Mr. Wales, the Inspector, told the court:

That the ropes that came from the two carriages in the pit and then passed over the head sheaves approached the drum of the winding engine at too steep an angle. This mistake was then compounded by the spiral design feature which I do not like. The combined effect of these two factors meant that the rope could not coil properly on the drum.

Mr. Wales thought that the engineer, Mr. Truran had not acted on the lessons learned after the first accident. The jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter against Matthew Truran.

 

REFERENCES
Colliery Guardian 14th January 1870, p.39, 21st January 1870, p.61.
”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.

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