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It was found that the explosion had taken place at the very deepest part of the mine in what was
known as the Queen Coal seam and in that particular spot only four men were working, they were
killed instantly. The men working a little further away were killed by firedamp gas before they
could manage to make their way to a safer place.
By 9pm eleven bodies had been recovered and placed in a shed awaiting identification. Nine were
identified easily but two could not be named, these were found at the scene of the explosion. A little
later two more bodies were brought up and it was about 11.15 pm before the last of dead had been
brought up making a total of twenty men in all. Before the bodies were removed from the colliery
premises the clothing was searched, with the result that pipes, tobacco, matches and even keys for
unlocking the lamps were found in the pockets of several men.
The inquest was opened at the Harp Inn, when the Coroner said it was `the greatest calamity that
had happened in the County for thirty years` The bodies were viewed by the jury and formal
evidence of identification was given. The jury adjourned until the following Wednesday.
The widows and children of those who were killed were provided for by the North Wales
Permanent Relief Fund. Mr William Bradshaw, the local agent went round to the various residences
of the deceased and left an instalment of money with relatives, as they required.
At the close of the inquest a verdict of `accidental death` was given. The conclusion of the
Commissioner was that it was clear that the action of one or two men that were killed had caused
the explosion. However there seemed to be a certain amount of laxity on the part of the
management in enforcing the rules, and this together with overconfidence felt in the men in their
safety, due to no gas having been found in that seam prior to that explosion caused them to have
lighted lamps, unlocked and unscrewed in a return airway. The Commissioner stated that there
should be far more rigid inspection of the men to compel them to only have their lamps lit at the
lamp stations and that the appointment of charter masters to fire shots and permission for them to
use lamp keys was a very dangerous practice and should be abolished at Pendwll Pit. He did not
however recommend the prosecution of anyone.
In 2008 a Tapestry was found in a bag of clothes that had been donated in Bromborough to Claire
House Children’s Hospice. It was embroidered with the story of a Peter Jones, who had been killed
in a Colliery Disaster in 1889. At the time an appeal was made to try to find out about this event,
and more importantly = who was Peter Jones?
It was quite easy to find which Colliery it was as the date was embroidered on the tapestry, but
tracing Peter Jones proved a little more difficult.
A search of Parish Registers for a burial was unsuccessful, but eventually I found that a Peter Jones
had been buried at Brake Chapel at the right time and he had lived at Cross’s Row.
In 1881 I found no Peter Jones in Broughton that looked likely to be the right one, but did find a
family in Mold living at Victoria Terrace. The father was Peter Jones a tailor aged 51, who was
born Mold, his wife was Sarah aged 44, who was born in Burton. They had eight children who
were all born in Mold. John aged 20, a tin worker, Elizabeth aged 15, Robert aged 12, Daniel aged
9, Peter aged 6.Ann Jane aged 3 and little Rebecca who was 1.
By 1891 this family had moved to Castle Town, Broughton. Peter Jones was still a tailor aged 60 b
Mold, Sarah 54 b Burton. John, Elizabeth and Robert were was not living at home anymore, but
Daniel, now a collier aged 18, Ann Jane 13 and Rebecca aged 11 were still with their parents. By
now there was another son, Samuel aged 7 born Mold, so it would seem that the Jones family had
not been in the area for very long
But where was Peter?
In 1901 I found Peter now 70, now a tailor of his own account, Sarah, and their son Samuel aged
17, a tin worker had moved back to Mold, where they were living at Wesley Place.
There was nothing in the Brake Burial Register to confirm that Peter was the son of Peter and
Sarah and a phone call to the Wrexham register office didn’t help either. The problem being that as
there had been an inquest then the informant would have been the coroner.
A search in the Wrexham Advertiser found nothing either, so we are only left to guess that young
Peter was indeed killed in Pendwll Colliery. He was the right age, lived in the same area, so could
that have been the reason that his parents moved back to Mold after living in Broughton for only a
period of about seven years at the most.
In November 2008 the tapestry was handed over to Wrexham Museum after £100 was paid to
Claire House Children’s Hospice on the Wirral. It is on display in a Coal Mining Exhibition at
Bersham Heritage Centre until October 31st 2009.
I visited the Centre and copied the poem as it was embroidered.
Annette Edwards.