	Gwendraeth Colliery	Index	Gwendraeth Colliery

Gwendraeth Colliery

Location:	Pontyeats 8½ miles [14 km] SSE of Carmarthen
Map Ref:	(Sheet 159 Swansea and Gower) SN472073, 51° 44' 36" N, 4° 12' 47" W
Opened:
Closed:
Owners:	Watney and Company
	Gwendraeth Anthracite Collieries Co., Ltd.
	Gwendraeth Valley Anthracite Collieries, Ltd.
	Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries, Ltd.
Output:	1900 - Coal: Anthracite.
	1905 - Coal: Anthracite.
	1910 - Coal: Anthracite.
	1915 - Coal: Anthracite.
Employment:	1900 - 40 (28 below, 12 surface)
	1905 - 251 (207 below, 44 surface)
	1910 - 296 (248 below, 48 surface)
	1915 - 300 (234 below, 66 surface)
	1923 - 323 (255 below, 68 surface)
	1933 - 404 (292 below, 112 surface)
Seams Worked:	1905 - Carway Fawr
	1910 - Carway Fawr
	1915 - Carway Fawr

Description

Disasters (5 or more killed)

10th

May

1852

Inundation of quicksand, 27 lives lost (Show Names)

Those entries marked with , signify a disaster for which a memorial has been erected or for which we have images concerning the disaster, alternately their name may be mentioned on a memorial plaque. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the appropriate web page for the memorial.

Names of those killed at this colliery

Please note that this collection of names is by no means complete!

						Anthony, William, 02 Jan 1869, Pitman, Killed by falling down shaft whilst engaged in regulating the flow of water
						Aubrey, Daniel, 10 May 1852, aged 26, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Aubrey, David, 10 May 1852, aged 30, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Davies, David, 26 Sep 1853, aged 49, Collier, Explosion of firedamp in old workings
						Davies, David, 11 Oct 1854, aged 24, Collier, Fall of stone from roof of stall
						Davies, John, 29 Jul 1873, Collier, Killed by fall of roof
						Davies, Rees, 10 May 1852, aged 65, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Davies, William, 10 May 1852, aged 12, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Evans, David, 10 May 1852, aged 20, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Evans, George, 10 May 1852, aged 21, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Evans, John, 10 May 1852, aged 40, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Evans, John, 30 Oct 1857, aged 15, Fell down shaft (top unfenced)
						Evans, Thomas, 09 Jan 1873, aged 22, Collier, Killed by an explosion of gas
						George, John, 27 Mar 1857, aged 32, Explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Gravell, Richard, 09 Jun 1910, aged 41, Collier, Fall of roof at working face. While resetting 2 posts which had been knocked out by an overcharged shot at the coal face a large stone from the roof fell on him
						Griffiths, Morgan, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Griffiths, Thomas, 16 Oct 1866, Collier, Explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Harris, David, 10 May 1852, aged 10, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Harris, John, 10 May 1852, aged 15, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Howell, -, 19 Jan 1867, aged 16, Labourer, Killed by trams
						Howells, David, 19 Aug 1856, Explosion of boiler
						Hughes, John, 10 May 1852, aged 22, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Hughes, William, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Jones, David, 10 May 1852, aged 50, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Jones, William, 06 Jun 1860, Collier, Fall of coal in stall
						Jones, William, 02 Oct 1867, aged 15, Trammer, Killed by tram passing over him
						Lewis, Griffiths, 10 May 1852, aged 18, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Lewis, John, 10 Nov 1904, 8.30 a.m., aged 23, Collier, Fall of side. At face ; while holing, a piece of coal 12 ft. X 4 ft. X 4 ft. 9 ins., in which a shot had been fired on the previous day, fell suddenly, pinning deceased against a prop. Carway-fawr seam
						Lloyd, Joshua, 23 Aug 1871, aged 40, Pitman, Killed by a chain breaking, on which a pump was suspended. It is supposed that the chain, which was a new one, had caught something between the top of the shaft and the windlass [More information ...]
						Morgan, J., 02 Oct 1875, aged 19, Collier, Killed by fall of coal
						Morris, Thomas, 10 May 1852, aged 18, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Phillips, Stephen, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Rees, David, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Richards, Henry, 16 Oct 1866, aged 13, Collier, Explosion of gas [More information ...]
						Richards, Thomas, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Roberts, Daniel, 17 Aug 1860, aged 36, Collier, Fall of coal from side of working place
						Roberts, George, 03 Nov 1860, Collier, Fall of roof (big vein)
						Thomas, Daniel, 10 May 1852, aged 11, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Thomas, David, 10 May 1852, aged 12, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Thomas, David, 18 Sep 1861, aged 18, Collier, Fall of roof ("South Pit")
						Thomas, Edward, 10 May 1852, aged 32, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Walters, Moses, 13 Oct 1913, aged 33, Collier, Fall of side at working face. As he was at work in the face throwing coal out to the roadway, he apparently loosened a sprag, with the result that a slip of coal fell upon him
						Wilkins, Daniel, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Wilkins, William, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Williams, David, 22 Jun 1873, Collier, Killed by exploison of gas [More information ...]
						Williams, David, 10 Dec 1902, 8 a.m., aged 23, Collier, Fall of roof. At face ; strong clift 9½ ft. x 4 ft. x 15 ins, thick, from edge of a fault at right angles to line of face; one prop discharged. Carway vein
						Williams, John, 10 May 1852, Eruption of quicksand from valley [More information ...]
						Williams, Joshua, 30 Mar 1865, aged 54, Collier, Fall of stone from roof

						48 names found

If you know of any fatalities missing from the above list then please contact us with the details and we will add them to our database.

Those names marked with , were killed in a disaster for which a memorial has been erected or for which we have images concerning the disaster, alternately their name may be mentioned on a memorial plaque. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the appropriate web page for the memorial.

Those names marked with , have a web page providing individual details of the accident, the page may also include a photograph of the deceased. Click on the symbol next to the name to see the web page.

more information on some of the fatalities shown above

Collieries and Pits within 5 miles (8km)

a simulated map showing the immediate vicinity of Gwendraeth Colliery

list of collieries/pits etc. near to Gwendraeth Colliery

Credits

Sources:

1853 (Jul-Dec) Mines Inspectors Report, by Herbert Mackworth, H.M. Inspector of Mines, published in 1854
1854 Mines Inspectors Report, by Herbert Mackworth, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1855 Mines Inspectors Report, by Herbert Mackworth, H.M. Inspector of Mines, includes a list of all the fatal accidents in the Southern District during the years 1851 to 1855
1856 Mines Inspectors Report, by Thomas Evans, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1857 Mines Inspectors Report, by Thomas Evans, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1860 Mines Inspectors Report, by Thomas Evans, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1861 Mines Inspectors Report, by Thomas Evans, H.M. Inspector of Mines
1869 Mines Inspectors Report (C 124), South Wales District by Thomas E. Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1871 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 653), South Wales District by Thomas E. Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1873 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1056), South Wales District by Thomas E. Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1875 Mines Inspectors Report (C. 1499), South Wales District by Thomas E. Wales, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1900 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1902 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 1590), Swansea District (No. 11) by Joseph T. Robson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1904 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 2506), Swansea District (No. 11) by Joseph T. Robson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1905 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1910 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1910 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 5676), South Wales District (No. 7) by W. N. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1913 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 7439), South Wales Division (No. 5) by Dr. W. N. Atkinson, H.M. Inspector of Mines Where to find this report
1915 List of Mines - Government report from the Mines Department
1923 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian
1933 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory. Published by The Louis Cassier Co. Ltd., from a copy held in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange, Midlothian