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The Cymmer Colliery explosion occurred in the early morning of 15 July 1856 at the Old Pit mine of the Cymmer
Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
near
Porth Porth ( cy, Y Porth) is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Lying in the Rhondda Valley, it is regarded as the gateway connecting the Rhondda Fawr and Rh ...
(lower
Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...
),
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, operated by
George Insole George Insole (baptised 5 December 1790 – 1 January 1851) was an English entrepreneur who built an extensive coal mining and shipping business in South Wales. A younger son of an English tenant farmer in Worcestershire, Insol ...
& 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 Underground mine ventilation provides a flow of air to the underground workings of a mine of sufficient volume to dilute and remove dust and noxious gases (typically NOx, SO2, methane, CO2 and CO) and to regulate temperature. The source of ...
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 James Harvey Insole JP (30 April 1821 – 20 January 1901) was an English businessman who consolidated and developed the extensive South Wales coal mining and shipping business begun by his father George Insole. Insole became ...
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 A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's
inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
into the deaths, Insole deflected responsibility onto his mine manager Jabez Thomas and the jury brought a charge of
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
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 lamp A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp that provides illumination in coal mines and is designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust or gases, both of which are potentially flammable or explosive. Until the development of effectiv ...
s, 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 George Insole (baptised 5 December 1790 – 1 January 1851) was an English entrepreneur who built an extensive coal mining and shipping business in South Wales. A younger son of an English tenant farmer in Worcestershire, Insol ...
and his son
James Harvey Insole James Harvey Insole JP (30 April 1821 – 20 January 1901) was an English businessman who consolidated and developed the extensive South Wales coal mining and shipping business begun by his father George Insole. Insole became ...
purchased the Cymmer
Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
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 A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
) 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 Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...
variety of coal was in high demand as a
coking coal Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly coupled ...
. The
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
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 he Cymmer Old Pit minewhen developed with such inordinate speed and recklessness by eorge Insole'sson,
James Harvey Insole James Harvey Insole JP (30 April 1821 – 20 January 1901) was an English businessman who consolidated and developed the extensive South Wales coal mining and shipping business begun by his father George Insole. Insole became ...
, 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 A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's
inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
into the deaths began on 16 July 1856 in Porth before the North
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...
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 () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...
. 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 The Davy lamp is a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy.Geordie lamp The Geordie lamp was a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented by George Stephenson in 1815 as a miner's lamp to prevent explosions due to firedamp in coal mines. Origin In 1815, Stephenson was the engine-wright at the Killing ...
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 Afterdamp is the toxic mixture of gases left in a mine following an explosion caused by methane-rich firedamp, which itself can initiate a much larger explosion of coal dust. The term is etymologically and practically related to other terms for un ...
or
methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
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 Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
for negligence causing the deaths of 114 men.


Trial

At the Glamorgan Spring
Assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...
held in
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
in March 1857, the judge, His Lordship Baron Watson, made his own position clear in his pre-trial address to the
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
. Noting that the mine manager did not go underground, and that "no direct case of omission" had been brought against the other mine officials, he indicated that they could not be guilty of manslaughter. Nevertheless, the grand jury returned a "true bill" (
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...
) against Jabez Thomas, Rowland Rowlands, and Morgan Rowlands, who were then tried on the charge of "having feloniously and wilfully killed and slain one William Thomas, on the 15th July, 1856". At the trial, it was reported that the judge made clear he sided with the defendants and thought the matter should not have come to court. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury complied with the judge's directions to acquit the defendants. To the deep distress and anger of the local mining communities, the final result of the legal proceedings was that the mine owner and his officials were exonerated from all blame. However, E. D. Lewis' analysis of the disaster concluded that:
Possibly the legal processes of the time were insufficient to punish those who were culpable, but of the moral responsibility of owner and officials, even when judged against the background of their own time and place, there can be no question.


Survivors

Among the small local communities no household was left untouched, almost all the working-age men and boys having perished. Thirty graves were opened at the Cymmer Independent Chapel graveyard and the bodies of forty-eight victims were interred on 17 July 1856 in the presence of huge crowds (estimated at 15,000 people). Smaller numbers of burials occurred in other local communities, with "11 at
Tonyrefail Tonyrefail is a village and community in the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough, Wales. It is situated at the head of the River Ely; northwest of Llantrisant, about from Trebanog and about from Williamstown. During the second half of the 19th ...
, nine at Ffrwd Amos, eight at the Dinas Methodist Chapel, and the rest at Pontypridd,
Treforest Treforest ( cy, Trefforest) is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pon ...
, Coed Cymmer, Llantrissant,
Llanharry Llanharry ( cy, Llanhari) is a village, Community (Wales), community (civil parish) and electoral ward in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically part of Glamorgan, Llanharry has been inextricab ...
,
Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Bedwas neighbours Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen, and forms a council ...
, Trelanos,
Brynmenyn Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school. Transport T ...
, Wauntrodau,
Llanwonno Llanwonno ( cy, Llanwynno) is a hamlet high up in the hills between the historic mining valleys of the Rhondda and the Cynon in Rhondda Cynon Taf, deep in the heart of the South Wales Valleys. Llanwonno consists of St Gwynno's Church and an inn ...
". Thirty-five widows, ninety-two children, and other dependent relatives were left with no immediate means of support. The court's verdict meant the
Fatal Accidents Act 1846 The Fatal Accidents Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c.93), commonly known as Lord Campbell's Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that, for the first time in England and Wales, allowed relatives of people killed by the wrongdoing o ...
, which required compensation to be paid only when a mine manager or proprietor was held to have been at fault, did not apply. The dependents of the victims of the disaster had to rely on public charity and "the final humiliation" of seeking
poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
. Insole contributed £500 (approximately ) to the Widows' and Orphans' Fund, set up shortly after the disaster, and undertook to meet the cost of the thirty graves. However, local coal owners also combined to deny work to those colliers who had given evidence against the mine officials at the inquest and trial.
Laments A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...
were published and, marking the first anniversary of the disaster, a song was published under the
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of Mrs Insole of Ely Court (Insole's wife) in aid of the relief fund.


Legacy

Described by Mines Inspector Thomas Evans as a "sacrifice of human life to an extent unparalleled in the history of coal mining of this country", the Cymmer Colliery disaster of 1856 influenced future coal-mining practices, locally and nationally. After another gas explosion at the colliery in December 1856, the single-shaft Cymmer Old Pit and New Pit mines were linked to create a safer and better ventilated two-shaft arrangement. Although mechanical mine ventilators had been used in the Lower Rhondda from 1851, they were installed at the Cymmer Colliery in the mid-1870s. Also by the mid-1870s, the colliery management realised it was safer and cheaper to provide colliers with safety lamps. The Cymmer Old Pit was worked by the Insole company until the mine closed in 1939. More broadly, influenced by the number of children killed in the disaster, the Mines Regulation Act of 1860 prohibited employment of boys under twelve years of age, unless they could read and write and were attending school for at least three hours a day on two days a week. Two-shaft mines were made compulsory by 1865. Mackworth's safety recommendations, sent to Insole in 1854 and including "that a qualified mining engineer and a sufficient number of competent subordinate officers and deputies should take complete charge of the machinery, ventilation, ways and works and watch over and provide for the safety of the workmen during the hours of labour", were passed in the Mines Act of 1872. Following the Cymmer Colliery explosion, steps were taken to reduce the reliance on public charity in the case of fatal disasters by introducing comprehensive compensation schemes, but the first successful scheme did not emerge until 1881.


See also

*
List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable ...


Notes


References


Further reading


"Dreadful Explosion in the Rhondda Valley"
'' The Merthyr Telegraph''. 19 July 1856. p. 2. (Early accounts of the disaster and its aftermath, lists of victims and inquest jurors)
"Dreadful Colliery Explosion"
'' The Monmouthshire Merlin''. 19 July 1856. p. 5. (Summary of the disaster and its aftermath, alternative lists of victims and inquest jurors) *Watson, Richard C. (1997).
Rhondda Coal, Cardiff Gold: The Insoles of Llandaff, Coal Owners and Shippers
'. Cardiff: Merton Priory Press. pp. 42–55.
"Cymmer Colliery Disaster"
'' The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales''. 2008. p. 185. (Brief summary)


External links


Cymmer Colliery
(possibly showing the owner James Harvey Insole and family members)
Family of James Harvey InsoleHerbert Francis MackworthWelsh Coal Mines
{{authority control 1856 in Wales July 1856 events Explosions in Wales Mining disasters in Wales Coal mining disasters in Wales History of Wales Trials in Wales Rhondda Valley