ABER RHONDDA COLLIERY
Abercynon, Cynon Valley
This small mine was owned by the Aber Rhondda Colliery Company of Abercynon in 1902 when it employed 8 men working the Cefn Glas seam. It employed 9 men when abandoned in 1909.
BRICKYARD COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
The only time that we can find any record of this level is in 1905 when it employed 46 men, in 1908 when it was owned by the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Coal (1891) Limited of Aberdare. It was managed at that time by H.H. Evans. In 1910 it employed 72 men. It abandoned the Gorllwyn seam in 1914.
BRYNGWYDDEL COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that was worked under license from the National Coal Board and owned in 1955/7 by John Davies and Others of Llwydcoed, Aberdare, and in 1960/70 by the Bryngwyddel Colliery Co.Ltd. It employed four men working underground in the Six-Feet seam and one man on the surface in 1957 & 1969.
BRYNGWYN COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was an opencast mining site in 1961 when it was operated by R.M. Douglas. Following the end of the war coal had been in great demand to restore British industry and opencast mining had been encouraged in an attempt to reduce imports and meet the needs of industry. By the time that Bryngwyn was in operation (1959), the situation had changed dramatically and there was now an excess of supply over demand. The NCB agreed to cut opencast production by 25% and more than 50 sites closed. 11,000,000 tons of coal was produced annually from opencast sites and a stockpile of 6,000000 tons had grown, the industry had a turnover of £50,000,000 and an employment level of 13,000 men.
BRYN PICA OPENCAST SITE
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This site was operated by Wimpey and in 1979 produced 195,946 tonnes of coal and employed 69 men.
BWLCH COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that employed 12 men in 1907, 65 men in 1908, 65 men in 1909, 114 men in 1910 and 95 men in 1911. It was worked in the 1920s by D.R. Llewellyn.
CARN-Y-FFRWDYR COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small mine that was worked under license from the National Coal Board in 1957 by I.J. Williams of Merthyr and in 1960 by W.G. Hobbs.
CASTLE WEIVER (CASTELL WEIVER) COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was an obscure little mine that gets a mention in 1858/70 when it was owned by William Davis.
CEFN PENNAR COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This obscure little mine was listed in 1860/70 as being owned by Rees Williams. It was not listed in 1878.
On 26/9/1853, Oliver Jones, 12, labourer, fell from the incline.
COED MEYRICK COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small mine that was worked under license from the National Coal Board. In 1957/60 the No.2 was worked by E. Thomas.
CWM COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
The only listings that we can find for this mine are in 1884 when it was owned by the Aberdare Works & Collieries Company with David Hughes as the manager, while in October 1888 it abandoned the Yard seam, in 1907 when it employed 13 men and 1908 when it was owned by the Dare Fechan Coal Company of Aberdare and employed 7 men underground and 1 man on the surface, and finally in March 1910 when it abandoned the Gorllwyn seam.
DUFFRYN DARE COLLIERY
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a small pit that was owned by Nixon, Taylor and Company in 1869. In 1902 it employed 19 men, in 1903 it employed 33 men, in 1905 it employed 190 men and in 1907 it employed 170 men in 1909/11 Duffryn Dare was owned by the Llwydcoed Collieries Limited of Aberdare and employed 98 and 95 men respectively, with Thomas Maddocks the manager in 1909 and Thomas Ashworth in 1911. It abandoned the Two-Feet-Nine seam in 1910.
DUNRAVEN DEEP
Rhigos, Cynon Valley
An opencast mine worked by Sir Lindsay Parkinson and Company Limited in 1961.
FOREST COLLIERY
Near Mountain Ash, Cynon Valley
This mine was worked in 1860/70 by Richard Fothergill and in the 1880s by Nixon, Taylor and Company and overshadowed by the larger collieries sunk by Nixon’s Navigation Coal Company. Also known as Fforest it worked the No.1 Rhondda Rider seam which it believed was the No.3 Rhondda seam. It had a thickness of around 28 inches. It produced 67,148 tons of coal in 1889 and 116,270 tons of coal in 1894.
FOUR FEET COLLIERY
Near Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
As the name implies this level probably worked the Four-Feet seam near its outcrop. A Government Commission into the use of children in coal mines in 1840 reported that Elizabeth Williams, aged ten years of Dowlais, was killed when working at this mine. This mine was owned in 1878 by the Aberdare Rhondda Company when it was managed by T. Evans. We cannot find any listing for it in the 20th century.
The ‘Aberdare’ Four-Feet seam was at one time the most highly prized seam in the South Wales Coalfield, if not the world. The mining of this seam started near its outcrop, in levels such as this, and ended with pits being sunk to the incredible depth of 740 yards at the southern end of the Cynon Valley. Its attraction to the coal speculators was further enhanced in 1851 when a report published in 1851 by De la Beche and Lyon Playfair convinced the Admiralty and the mercantile marine of the superior qualities of this dry, smokeless, steam coal, and where the Admiralty lead, the rest of the world followed.
GELLI ISHAF COLLIERY
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a small level worked in the first decades of the 20th century by W. Williams. In 1907 it employed 29 men working underground and 6 men at the surface while in 1908/9 it employed 21 men underground and 8 men on the surface. It closed in 1909 when it abandoned the Gellideg seam.
Some statistics:
- 1902: Manpower: 23.
- 1903: Manpower: 17.
- 1905: Manpower: 28.
- 1907: Manpower: 35.
- 1909: Manpower: 29.
GORLLWYN COLLIERY
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a common name for levels in this area that worked the Gorllwyn seam. One was worked as early as 1813 by the Hirwaun Iron Works Company, and at that time was called Gothlin. The most prominent ‘Gorllwyn’ was the one worked by Mordecai Jones in 1878, and then by the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Coal Company, followed by the Bwllfa and Cwmaman Collieries Limited, and was worked in conjunction with the Bwllfa Collieries. The manager in 1913 was Edward Evans, and in 1918 it was Edward Pugh with this mine employing 657 men in that year. In 1923 it employed 80 men, in 1928 it employed 246 men and in 1930 it employed 213 men. It appears to have closed just after 1932.
GWRHYD COLLIERY
Aberdare, (01540367)
This obscure little mine worked the Upper Four-Feet and No.1 Yard seams. The Upper-Four-Feet seam was struck at a depth of 67 feet 3 inches and was 47 inches thick. It was abandoned in March 1903.
HIGH DUFFRYN COLLIERY
Cwmbach, Cynon Valley (01820184)
This mine was sunk in 1843 and purchased by Powell Duffryn in 1866 and closed during the slump in the coal trade in 1875. The Daily News reporting on this matter stated the Powell Duffryn had made improvements to the underground working, and had replaced horses in many places with haulage engines and this had enabled them to maintain an annual output of coal of over one million tons from seven pits instead of ten and it closed High Duffryn, Cwmdare and Abergwawr.
J. Griffiths was listed as the manager in 1878, when, on the 24th of August, John Williams, aged 51, was killed by a fall of the roof while cleaning the roadways. The Seven-Feet seam was at a depth of 122 metres at this colliery. The one shaft was a downcast ventilation shaft and was elliptical in shape 14 feet 6 inches by 10 feet. In 1870 it employed 218 men. Also called Ynyscynon, please see that listing.
HIRWAUN COMMON COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
The No.2 Level was a small mine that was worked under license from the National Coal Board. In 1977 it became the site of opencast mining.
LEFEL FAWR
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This level was working in 1786 and was used to feed the Hirwaun Furnace. It is claimed that it was the first level to use horses underground in South Wales.
LITTLE PIT
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
An early Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company pit that was closed c1895.
LLWYDCOED COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This mine was also called Dyllas Slant and employed 256 men in 1903, 252 men in 1911 and 303 men in 1912. Please see the listing on Dyllas Colliery.
LLWYNCELYN COLLIERY
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley (03429101)
This was a small level that was listed in 1860/5 as being owned by Christopher James & Company and in 1878/1882 as being owned by Edmund Thomas and managed by J. Edwards. It was not listed for 1888.
LLWYNRHIDIA COLLIERY
Cwmaman, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that was owned in 1878 by Joseph Thomas and managed in that year by E. Jones. It was still listed in 1882 but was not listed in 1888.
LONG RANGE COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This small level was managed by Thomas Rees in 1886 when it was working the Six-Feet, Nine-Feet and Bute seams for the Aberdare Merthyr Colliery Company of London.
MIDDLE AMMAN COLLIERY
Cwmaman, Cynon Valley
This was a small mine that was owned in 1878/1882 by Davies and Phillips and managed by D. Davies.
MOUNTAIN ASH COLLIERY
Mountain Ash, Cynon Valley
This mine was listed in 1869 as being owned by Mordecai Jones of Mardy fame. In 1870 it was owned by Richard Fothergill. It was not listed in 1878 although a Mountain Colliery above Abernant was closed in 1908.
NANTMELYN GRAIG COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that worked the Graig seam in 1893/6 under the ownership of Humphreys and Griffiths of Trecynon and in 1896 employed 50 men underground and 11 men on the surface, in 1907 it employed 37 men while in 1908 it employed 29 men. In 1917 it was under the ownership of D.R. Llewellyn. It was not listed in 1913 or 1921.
Some statistics:
- 1896: Manpower: 61.
- 1899: Manpower: 56.
- 1900: Manpower: 41.
- 1901: Manpower: 63.
- 1902: Manpower: 67.
- 1903: Manpower: 80.
- 1905: Manpower: 76.
- 1907: Manpower: 37.
- 1908: Manpower: 29.
- 1910: Manpower: 13.
NEW GLOVERS COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was one of the earliest levels in this area and driven in 1813 to feed the Hirwaun Iron Works probably on the contractor system. The contractor system was an agreement made between the iron masters and a small group of miners to produce coal from that particular level. The owners would provide the capital and let out the mine, and the contractors had to find the equipment and manpower to work the mine. They would then agree to produce a stipulated amount of coal or ironstone, or both, at a fixed price to be delivered at the Works. Payment for their work would be made quarterly. When the contractors didn’t have enough money of their own to start the venture, they could normally obtain four months credit from Bristol merchants, and therefore supply provisions and tools to their workmen until payment was made. This system meant that both the contractors and their workers were always in debt, and was the beginning of the hated Truck System. The Glovers in the title is probably what we know as the Gorllwyn seam.
OLD/NEW BLAENAMAN FACH & FAWR COLLIERIES
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a series of levels that worked 632 acres of coal in conjunction with Bwllfa Colliery under the ownership of the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare
Collieries Limited.
OLD GLOVERS/OLD LIME KILN COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
Both were small levels that were working in 1813 to feed the Hirwaun Iron Works.
PADALLYBWLCH COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that was worked for house coal in the 1920s by R. Buxton and Company. It employed 21 men in 1900 and 16 men in 1901. It was not listed in 1917 or 1932.
PANDY COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small 19th-century level near the northern outcrop of the Coalfield.
PARK COLLIERY
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley (00380354)
This pit was opened by the Marquis of Bute c1850 who worked it until it was purchased (pre1884) by the Aberdare Works and Collieries Company. The upcast ventilation shaft was 10 feet 3 inches in diameter and 395 feet deep. It was working the Seven-Feet and Gellideg seams, the SevenFeet by the long wall system and the Gellideg by pillar & stall, naked lights were used throughout the mine and in 1889 it produced 71,884 tons of coal while in 1894 it produced 37,881 tons of coal. In 1896 it employed 126 men underground and 17 men on the surface.
It closed in 1909. In 1919 it was sold to the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Coal Company who absorbed its take into the Bwllfa Collieries. This colliery worked the following seams:
- The Nine-Feet seam which had a thickness of 8 feet 8 inches and was 51 feet 3 inches below the surface.
- The Bute seam had a thickness of 65 inches and was 90 feet 6 inches deep.
- The Seven-Feet seam had a thickness of 9 feet 10 inches and was 184 feet 6 inches deep.
- The Gellideg seam had a thickness of 40 inches and was 279 feet 1 inch deep.
PENNAR COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This mine was listed in 1869/70 as being owned by Powell Duffryn.
PENTWYN ISHA COLLIERY
Penrhiwceiber, Cynon Valley
This small level was listed as being re-opened in 1910 by John Bowen. It was still being re-opened in 1912 but the owner then was D.R. Jones.
PENTWYN MERTHYR COLLIERY
Penrhiwceiber, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that produced coking, house, manufacturing and steam coals and employed 50 men in 1919. It was owned and managed by D.R. Jones of Pontypridd in 1917 and by the Pentwyn Merthyr Colliery Company in 1921/7. This company was not a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. In 1932 it was owned by the Nantyfedw Colliery Company Limited of Abercynon. It was not listed in 1935.
Some statistics:
- 1919: Manpower: 50.
- 1920: Manpower: 50.
- 1923: Manpower: 40
- 1924: Manpower: 34
- 1926: Manpower: 50
PENWAUN SITE
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was an opencast site that was worked by George Wimpey and Company Limited in 1961. This site consisted of 263 acres and had an estimated reserve of 700,000 tons of coal. There was an objection to working on this site on the grounds; “The loss to the scenic amenities of the area. The effect may be noticed long after the site has been restored, as all natural features such as hedges, trees and undulations of the land are obliterated”. The objection was overruled.
PLOUGH COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
Sunk in the 1840s to the Four-Feet seam by Thomas Powell, and became part of the assets of the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company
Limited when it was formed in the 1860s. Never the largest of pits, in 1897 it had a railway sidings capacity for eleven full wagons and twelve empty wagons. The last listing that we can find for the Plough Pit is in 1898.
This pit hit the news on Saturday, 5th of June 1869, when the Bristol Mercury reported:
Early on Monday morning, there was a dreadful boiler explosion at the Plough Colliery, Aberaman, by which four persons were killed and as many others injured. The Plough pit belongs to the large firm of coal owners known as the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company, and has been in operation 25 years, during which of the whole period the boiler that exploded had also been in work…On Monday morning about half past six, just as the colliers began to congregate at the pit’s mouth – and fortunately before many of them had got there – the boiler nest the engine house exploded, making no loud report, but a dead thud, and bursting from its bed, broke into three pieces, the largest falling some fifty yards off, on the fence of the Taff Vale Railway. The explosion hurled an immense quantity of timber, stones, bricks, coal dust, and pieces of iron into the air, scattering them in all directions to the great peril of the houses by which the pit is surrounded, and with fatal effect to some of the persons standing about. George Rose, the fireman, was filling one of the boilers at the moment, and was killed on the spot, being overwhelmed with boiling water, hot mud and stones; David Richards, a collier, 16 years of age, sitting some thirty yards away was struck on the head with a stone, and killed on the spot; and within a yard of him a collier named David Griffiths, 32 years of age, was also struck on the head by a falling stone, and killed instantaneously. A labourer named Lewis, who worked in the ash pit, had just gone under the boiler when it exploded, and the poor fellow was found in an upright position amongst the debris, having literally been drowned in the boiling fluid, which fell like a deluge from the burst boiler…
PROSPER COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that worked the steam coal seams of the Middle and Lower Coal Measures near their outcrop. Owned and managed in 1878/1884 by W. Williams, but it had closed by 1913.
RHYDWAIN COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
An early level that worked the coal seams of the Lower and Middle Coal Measures near their northern outcrop. It was owned in 1878/1882 by John Morgan and managed by W. Davies. I can find no other mention of this colliery.
SOUTH COLLIERY
Hirwaun, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that was owned and managed in 1878 by Thomas Hopkins.
TALYBRYN COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
The only reference that we can find for this mine is in 1908 when it was owned by the Talybryn Brick Works Company of Aberdare and employed 114 men working underground and 20 men working at the surface of the mine.
TANYBRYN COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This small level was owned by Thomas Evans and employed 6 men in 1903 and 5 men in 1907 and abandoned the Garw seam in April 1916.
TIR ERGID/ABERNANT RESIDUAL
Near Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was an opencast site that was two miles to the north of Aberdare Town. It was cleared for coal extraction in 1958 and was worked in 1961
by George Wimpey and Company Limited. This was despite an objection on the following grounds:
The detrimental effect to any residual area in the proximity by reason of noises, dust, and visual appearance. The noise factor varies with the method of extraction and may be caused by blasting, mechanical aids for digging and transportation on the site, and heavy traffic on the roads to and from the site.
The original colliery had closed in 1908 when it abandoned the Gellideg seam.
TIRFFOUNDER COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
After Thomas Powell had successfully worked some small levels in
Monmouthshire he turned his attention to the newly emerging Cynon Valley. In February 1840 he commenced sinking at TirFfounder, striking the Four-Feet seam in 1842. He followed this by sinking or acquiring: Plough pit. Lower Duffryn, Middle Duffryn, and Upper and Lower
Cwmpennar. TirFfounder became known as Old Duffryn and was part of the assets of the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Limited when it was formed in the 1860’s. In 1893 it employed 15 men working underground and in 1896 it employed 29 men underground and 3 men on the surface and was owned in both years by David Jones of Cwmbach. In 1899 it employed 41 men and in 1900 it employed 39 men.
The closure date is uncertain but it abandoned the Gorllwyn seam in January 1901.
TREWEN COLLIERY
Cwmaman, Cynon Valley
The single 20 feet in diameter shaft was sunk by the Cwmaman Coal Company Limited between 1910 and 1912 to the Seven-Feet seam at a depth of 374 yards. In 1923 it employed 104 men working underground and 4? men at the surface of the mine. W. Jones was the manager and in 1925 it employed 170 men. In 1927 it employed 170 men with William Jones still as the manager. In 1930 D.T. Jones was the manager and it employed 173 men and in 1932 it employed 170 men. It was later used as an upcast ventilation shaft for the Cwmaman and Fforchwen Collieries.
TYLLWYD COLLIERY
Cwmamman, Cynon Valley
This was an obscure small mine that was worked in 1878/82 by Newman and Smith. In 1883 it was owned by the Tyllwyd and Dynevor Colliery Company Limited and was managed by D. Oakley.
TYRERGID COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This was a small level that was worked by John Wilkins in the early decades of the 20th century it employed 8 men in 1900, 24 men in 1901, no men in 1902, 52 men in 1903, 56 men in 1905 and 14 men in 1907. It closed in 1908.
UPPER DUFFRYN COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley (024015)
Sunk to the Four-Feet seam in the 1840s by Thomas Powell, and was part of the assets of the newly formed Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Limited in 1864. It was closed in 1875.
UPPER PIT (LOWER DUFFRYN)
Mountain Ash, Cynon Valley
This was another of the small pits owned by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Limited.
WINDSOR COLLIERY
Aberdare, Cynon Valley
This level was listed in 1896 as being owned by the Aberdare Works and Collieries Company of Aberdare and employed 169 men underground and 4 men working on the surface of the mine producing steam coal. The manager was Rees Howells. It worked the Two-Feet-Nine seam and its ventilation was in common with the Tunnel Pit.
YNYSCYNON COLLIERY
Cwmbach, Cynon Valley
A pit that was also called High Duffryn was sunk to the Four-Feet seam at a depth of 132 yards in 1843 by David Williams. In 1867 Williams sold it, and his other pits in this area, to the newly formed Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Limited. It worked the Six-Feet seam around 1867, the Upper Four-Feet seam around 1868, the Dirty seam around 1870 and the Lower Yard around 1875. It was closed in 1875 and its coal reserves were worked from Aberaman Colliery although it stayed open for pumping purposes until 1962.
Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.
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