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Thomas Jones
| Age: | 22 |
| Died: | 30th Sep 1856 |
| Accident: | 30th Sep 1856 |
| Year Born: | abt. 1834 |
| Colliery: | Brynmally |
| Company: | Clayton and Darllington |
| Occupation: | |
| Notes: | Drowned by an innundation of water, which it is supposed burst in from some old workings in the main coal |
| Buried: | [not known] |
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| Description | |
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Accident No. 56. — Inundation ; Thirteen Persons Drowned.
At Brynmally Colliery, 30th September. — A large quantity of water suddenly rushed into the north workings, in the main coal, which filled the lower part of the works and rose about thirty yards in the working shaft in little more than half an hour. About sixty persons were underground when the flood first appeared ; thirteen of these poor men were drowned, the others reached the foot of the upcast pit on the rise of the mine, a long way above the present workings, from whence they were raised to the surface by means of some temporary machinery, which was quickly erected for that purpose.
The greatest efforts were made by the owners and managers to get out the water, and recover those who were still imprisoned in the mine, believing as they did, that the men might not have perished, but had wandered toward the outcrop and lost their way in the old works. Several long and anxious weeks elapsed before the pit could be cleared of water, and the proprietors spared neither labour nor expense to facilitate the operation ; subsequently it was discovered that, they were all in or near the places in which they had been employed, and that they had perished as the water overtook them.
The north boundary of the Brynmally coal field is defined by a fault, which is supposed to be a down throw to the north, of about fourteen yards. It was believed by the owners and manager of this colliery, and by persons who knew all the works in the district, that this fault had not been crossed by those who had worked the mines in the adjoining estate; this led Messrs. Clayton and Darlington to exchange a few acres of the mines which they possessed on the north side of the fault for that on the south side thereof belonging to the adjoining owner, with the intention of leaving the fault as a natural and unbroken barrier. For this reason no borings had been made in advance of the work, although it was very wet in all the headings, and on both sides of the pit.
The water broke in near the roof of the mine at the most northerly point of the second cross or waggon road.
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| Memorial: 1856 Brynmally Colliery Disaster | |
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| Related Articles | |
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| Pub. Date | Article (Newspaper) |
|---|---|
| 30 Sep 1856 | Inundation Of The Brynmally Mines (Annual Register for 1856) |
| 04 Oct 1856 | The Catastrophe At Brynmalley And The Case Of Manslaughter (Wrexham and Denbighshire Weekly Advertiser) |
| 04 Oct 1856 | Dreadful Occurrence At The Brynmally Colliery, Thirteen Lives Supposed To Be Lost (Wrexham and Denbighshire Weekly Advertiser) |
| 10 Oct 1856 | Fearful Coal Mine Inundation, Wrexham, Thursday (The Welshman) |
| 11 Oct 1856 | The Catastrophe At The Brynmally Colliery (Wrexham and Denbighshire Weekly Advertiser) |
| 18 Oct 1856 | The Fatal Accident At Brynmally (Wrexham and Denbighshire Weekly Advertiser) |
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| Sources | |
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- 1856 Mines Inspectors Report, by Peter Higson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 48
- 1856 Mines Inspectors Report, by Peter Higson, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 52, Accident Number: 56
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