Brynhenllis Colliery

Near Cwmllynfell, Swansea Valley 75763/12906

This mine was named after the local farm and driven on the Breconshire side of the border around 1870. It consisted of the Old or Lower Slant, the Top Slant, and a pumping pit. It was locally called Gwaith y Poweliaid (Powell’s Colliery). An interesting feature of this mine was the three giant water wheels that were used to provide energy, driven by the River Twrch they drove the winding engines for the slants, the compressor, pumps and many other items required for the day-to-day running of the colliery.

It was owned by Powell, Rees and Lewis in 1883, by Powell, Rees, Lewis and Morgan in 1884/5 and then by the Brynhenllis Colliery Company (Powell and Company) of Ystalyfera, which was associated to the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. During the 1883/7 period, it was managed by Enoch Powell. In 1887 it was working the Brass Vein, and it was managed in 1893 by Levi Rees and in 1896 by Owen Powell who employed 103 men underground and 18 men on the surface in that year.

In 1901 the colliery was described as working the Brass Vein by slants on the pillar and stall method of coal extraction with naked lights in use. Ventilation was by a 6 feet by 5 feet 6 inch furnace sited at the bottom of a 150 feet deep upcast ventilation shaft which measured 5 feet by 5 feet. The manager was still O. Powell in 1908 when it employed 213 men underground and 44 men on the surface and in 1911 when it employed 257 men.

On the 15th of December 1910, William Morgan, aged 64 years and a labourer, while unloading pit wood he slipped and injured his arm. He
died on the 2nd of October 1911.

In 1913/5 it was managed by T. Morgan, in 1916 by W. Williams and in 1918 by W. Davies who employed 102 men underground and 21 men on the surface.

In 1923 the name of the company changed to Brynhenllys Colliery (1923) Limited and from 1925 it was owned by the Brynhenllis Anthracite Colliery Company. In 1927/30 the manager was W. Davies. In 1934 this company was based at 14, Cambrian Place, Swansea with the directors being; Henry Gethin Lewis, H.W. Henderson, J. Llewellyn Jenkins, Howell Lewis, D.J. Price and D.P. Thomas. Brynhenllys was its only mine. It employed 45 men on the surface and 170 men underground producing 70,000 tons of coal from the anthracite Middle and Lower seams. The manager at that time was D. Daniel. The Company at that time was based in Swansea and was under the chairmanship of Henry Gething Lewis.

H.W. Henderson was one of the directors. In 1937 the manager was D. Bassett and in 1943/5 the manager was Lloyd Davies and it employed 207 men underground and 58 on the surface of the mine working in the Middle and Trigloin seams. When Nationalised in 1947 Brynhenllis came under the National Coal Board’s South Western Division’s Area No.1, and at that time the Slant employed 58 men on the surface and 238 men underground working the Middle and Trigloyn seams, while the No.2 Slant was being developed employing 7 men on the surface and 9 mine underground. The manager was I. Lloyd Davies.

We can assume that the No.2 Slant met with little success for the whole colliery was closed on August 26th 1955 on the grounds that it was uneconomic because of “go-slows, indiscipline and refusals to co-operate with management.”

This was also the site of the Brynhellys Revised Opencast Mine which was still in operation in March 2003 under the ownership of Celtic Energy Ltd

Some statistics:

• 1899: Manpower: 201.
• 1900: Manpower: 189.
• 1902: Manpower: 173.
• 1903: Manpower: 204.
• 1905: Manpower: 244.
• 1907: Manpower: 247.
• 1908: Manpower: 247.
• 1909: Manpower: 257.
• 1910: Manpower: 270.
• 1911: Manpower: 257.
• 1912: Manpower: 297.
• 1913: Manpower: 276.
• 1915: Manpower: 276.
• 1916: Manpower: 276.
• 1919: Manpower: 276.
• 1920: Manpower: 276.
• 1923: Manpower: 267. Output: 50,000 tons.
• 1924 Manpower: 279.
• 1927: Manpower: 285.
• 1928: Manpower: 319.
• 1929: Manpower: 270.
• 1930: Manpower: 320. Output: 80,000 tons.
• 1931: Manpower: 320.
• 1933: Manpower: 216.
• 1934: Manpower: 215.
• 1937: Manpower: 232.
• 1938: Manpower: 207.
• 1940: Manpower: 286. Output: 70,000 tons.
• 1943: Manpower: 265.
• 1945: Manpower: 265.
• 1947: Manpower: 312.
• 1948: Manpower: 318. Output: 50,000 tons.
• 1949: Manpower: 318. Output: 50,000 tons.
• 1950: Manpower: 299.
• 1953: Manpower: 266. Output: 46,200 tons.
• 1955: Manpower: 350.

Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.