Standard Colliery

Ynishir, Rhondda Fach Valley (02449326)

The sinking of the Standard Nos. 1 and 2 pits commenced in 1875/76 with the Four-Feet seam being struck at a depth of 377 yards in the No.1 pit in 1877 and at the No.2 pit in 1878. The No.1 pit was finally sunk to a depth of 1,223 feet, and the No.2 pit to a depth of 1,577 feet. Originally the pit was ventilated by a 15 feet 6 inch diameter Schiele type fan. Some of the seams worked at this pit were; Gellideg seam at a thickness of 54 inches. The Five-Feet seam was extensively worked at a thickness of between 50 inches to 75 inches. The Middle and Upper-Seven-Feet seams were extensively worked together as the No.2 Seam with a thickness of between 40 inches to 59 inches. Also worked together were the Bute and Lower-Nine-Feet seams. The Four-Feet seam was called the Two-Feet-Nine seam at this pit and had a thickness of up to 10 feet 9 inches of mixed coal and dirt. The No.2 Rhondda seam was extensively worked and had a thickness of between 30 inches to 36 inches.

The colliery was sunk by James Thomas, who formed the Ynishir Steam Coal Company Limited, and it was also known as; Ynishir Steam Collieries, Ynishir Standard or Old and New Standard.

In 1887 it produced 188,366 tons of prime steam coal. In 1896 it was managed by John Thomas and employed 635 men underground and 105 men on the surface. On the 12th of October 1889, David Jones aged 39, Joseph Jones aged 16 and Thomas Griffiths aged 37 died under a fall of roof. It was served by the Taff Vale Railway and in 1897 it had a sidings capacity for; 177 full wagons, 176 empty wagons, and 117 other wagons. In 1908 the manager was David Williams and the No.1 Pit employed 652 men underground and 162 on the surface, the No.2 Pit employed 640 men, and the House Coal Pit, 48men, with 169 men on the surface. In 1911/15 Standard Colliery was still managed by John Thomas and employed 1.502 men in 1915. This company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association.

In August 1914 the colliery was acquired by United National Collieries Limited, the old owner, Sir W.J. Thomas arranged for special trains to take 4,000 to 5,000 miners and their families to Barry for the day as a sort of goodbye. In that year it employed 1,352 men and produced 364,804 tons of coal. To give you an idea of the markets for Welsh coal at that time, 140,000 tons were purchased by the Central Argentine Railway. In 1915 the Business Statistics Company’s book ‘South Wales Coal and Iron Companies’ described the United National Collieries Limited as; “the properties comprise the Risca (New and Old) Black Vein Collieries, Risca, Monmouthshire, the National Colliery, Wattstown, Rhondda, Glamorganshire, and the Standard Colliery (purchased in August 1914).

The Company’s collieries were valued at £491,922 with a share value of £1,020,689. Between 1903 and 1914 the Company made a profit of £1,049,845. The board of directors was; Fenwick Shadforth Watts, Chairman, Sydney King George, Edgar Watts, Colonel Alex Keith Wyllie, Herbert Sanders Sanders-Clark, Stanley Hilson Burgess, James Miles, J.A. Jones and Ivor Llewellyn. In 1916 it employed 1,502 men with manpower dropping to 1,143 men in 1920. The manager in 1918 was E. Bevan. In 1923 E. Henry was the manager and the pit employed 212 men working in the No.1 Pit, 860 men working in the No.2 Pit and 146 men working at the surface of the mine.

In early September 1915, the South Wales Miners Federation members at this pit went out on strike over non-unionism to the bafflement of the owners. They had gone through the books and of the 1,200 men working at Standard Colliery, all were members of a union. The reason for the strike became clearer when the Union posted the following notice. They did not recognise other unions such as the Enginemen and Stokers Society and the Gasworkers Union. The owners were opposed to them losing their independence due to them normally working while the SWMF was on strike, while the SWMF wanted them with their fold so that they could exert further pressure on the owners by threatening to stop the pumping operations etc.

In 1926 the Ocean Coal Company purchased a controlling interest in the United National Company and continued to work the colliery until at least 1932, but by 1935 it had ceased as a production unit and in 1938 it was included with National Colliery.

Generally, this colliery produced type 203 and type 204 Coking Steam Coals, the 203 being weak to medium caking, and the 204 being medium to strong caking. Both types were low volatile, low ash and low sulphur coals, and were used for steam raising in the boilers of ships, locomotives, etc. for foundry and blast furnace coke, or for coking blends.

Some statistics:

• 1896: Manpower: 740.
• 1899: Manpower: 850.
• 1901: Manpower: 940.
• 1902: Manpower: 980.
• 1905: Manpower: 1,179.
• 1907: Manpower: 1,458.
• 1908: Manpower: 1,671.
• 1909: Manpower: 1,364.
• 1911: Manpower: 1,364.
• 1912: Manpower: 1,392.
• 1913: Manpower: 1,502.
• 1914: Manpower: 1,352.
• 1916: Manpower: 1,502.
• 1920: Manpower: 1,143.
• 1922: Manpower: 1,264.
• 1923: Manpower: 1,218.
• 1924: Manpower: 1,229.
• 1925: Manpower: 1,050.
• 1926: Manpower: 1,050.
• 1930: Manpower: 50.

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