Ty Trist Colliery

Tredegar, Sirhowy Valley (14730761)

The Nos. 1 and 2 Pits were sunk in 1834 to the Elled (Two-Feet-Nine) seam, with the Upper Ty Trist being sunk in 1841, and the No.3 Pit in 1868. The No.1 Pit was deepened to the Old Coal (Five-Feet/Gellideg) seam in 1868. The No.1 Pit was 651 feet deep with the shaft size being 15 feet by 10 feet. It was originally sunk to the Elled seam and later deepened to the Old Coal seam. A new steel headgear was erected in 1924 to a height of 47 feet 6 inches to the centre of the sheaves which were 12 feet in diameter. The steam winder for this pit had 28½-inch diameter cylinders with a 48-inch stroke. The winding drum was 10 in diameter and 7 feet 2 inches wide. The cages were single decks with one tram per deck. The maximum capacity for winding per shift was 800 trams. The No.2 Pit was 663 feet deep and the same diameter as No.1. It was also originally sunk to the Elled seam but later deepened to the Rhas Las seam. This pit had a steel joist head frame 47 feet 6 inches high to the centre of the sheaves which were 12 feet in diameter. It was erected by Messrs Rees and Kirby in 1933 and replaced the original timber frame. In 1950 the winder was a double geared electric winder with a 150 hp motor. The drum was 5 feet 3 inches in diameter and 5 feet wide. The cages were single decks with one tram per deck. It stopped working as a production shaft on the 21st of November 1942.

The seam sections encountered during sinking were;

• Soap Vein: 10 inches
• Elled (Two-Feet-Nine?): 46 inches.
• Big Vein (Four-Feet): 36 inches.
• Yard (Lower-Four-Feet): 36 inches.
• Red Vein (Upper-Six-Feet): 30 inches.
• Three-quarter (Lower-Six-Feet): 16 inches.
• Rhas Las (Upper-Nine-Feet): 32 inches.
• Old Coal (Five-Feet/Gellideg): 75 inches.

The No.3 Pit was the upcast ventilation shaft, it was 663 feet deep to the Five-Feet/Gellideg seam and was 14 feet in diameter. It was originally sunk to the Yard seam and later deepened to the Old Coal seam. In 1950 the winder was electric and had a 150 hp motor. The winding drum was 6 feet 3 inches in diameter and 5 feet wide. The cages were single decks with one tram per deck. At that time it was used for winding men only. The headgear was a steel joist head frame 35 feet 6 inches high to the centre of the sheaves which were 9 feet in diameter. This headgear was erected in 1920 by Messrs Rees and Kirby. Ty Trist Colliery was owned and worked by the Tredegar Iron Works Company which became the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company in 1873, and from Nationalisation in 1947, by the National Coal Board closed it in 1959 At the time of sinking miners earned between 18/- and 21/- a week, children under the age of 7 years were still employed underground, and at Ty Trist Colliery could expect to earn between 1/6d and 2/- a week. Dragger girls were on 3/6d to 6/6d a week, while women earned 12/- to 14/6d a week. Women were still employed at this pit as late as 1878 as shown by accident records for June of that year when a tip girl aged 17 years was run over and killed by a wagon.

The newspapers of the 15th of July 1876 described the surface of the colliery:

We next came upon a batch of 64 coke ovens adjacent to the Ty Trist Colliery, where Mr. Colquhoun showed and explained the transmission of waste heat to the boilers working the above colliery, and placed some distance off. At Ty Trist there are two shafts – the first one going 220 yards deep to the Old Coal seam, and the other 92 yards to the Big Vein and Yard coal. Here the system for preserving slack for coking purposes was to be seen in operation and presented a complicated and extraordinary spectacle. In the first place, it should be premised that an understanding is arrived at with the men that no small coal be sent up; but to each average tramload, a system of cropping for slack is enforced for all above 1 cwt. The coal is won very clean, and all are sent up.

 When the coal is tipped over the screen, the large goes at once into the trucks, and the small falls through, to the centre of a bunker. At the bottom of this bunker are valves, which are opened by trams running underneath. When the tram is filled it is hauled up and empties itself into another bunker placed over washing troughs, and when the slack falls into these it is carried by the water a distance of 75 yards. During this transit, the rubbish sinks to the bottom of the trough, and girls are employed to manipulate the mixture so as to let the coal float off. The latter eventually find its way into another large bunker, and thence into false bottom trams to the ovens. About 150 tons per day are washed in this manner. After leaving this interesting plant the party viewed the Guibal fan, which at present is sending 40,000 cubic feet of air per minute through the Ty Trist pit. The size of the same is 36 inch cylinder; fan. 36 feet diameter and 12 feet wide, water gauge 2½ inches.

In 1878 the manager was H. Jones, and in that year Thomas Carter a col-lier aged 60 years died under a fall of roof to add to the endless list of fatalities within the Coalfield. In 1888 this pit worked the Big Vein, Yard and Old Coal seams with the manager now being W.H. Routledge. In 1892 a coal washing plant was constructed on the surface of the mine. In 1896 Mr. Routledge was still manager and the pit employed 526 men underground and 92 on the surface working the same seams. From 1908 to 1913 Ty Trist Colliery was still managed by David Evans and employed 1,196 men, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, advertising in that year:

Tredegar, McLaren Merthyr, Tredare Merthyr Best Welsh Steam Coal. Of Great Efficiency, Large Size Thoroughly Screened and Cleaned. Supplied to British Admiralty and Foreign Gove Used for Trial Runs of H.M. Battleships. Tredegar – a Locomotive Coal of Highest Quality Speciality for Bunkers —Washed Nuts and Peas.

Shipping Ports: Cardiff Barry, Newport and Penarth. Tredegar Iron & Coal Company Ltd. London –60, Fenchurch Street Cardiff-The Exchange

In 1915 the Business Statistics Company in their book; ‘South Wales Coal & Iron Companies’ described the Tredegar Iron & Coal Company as:

 Registered on March 26th, 1873. It possesses four collieries in the Sirhowy Val-ley at Tredegar, and two pits in the Rhymney Valley named McLaren Nos.1 & 3, which are on the Admiralty list. The Tredegar Co., possesses a valuable property in the Oakdale Navigation Collieries Limited, now actively working Steam and House Coal Collieries in the Sirhowy Valley near Blackwood. The Tredegar Company have also acquired the entire interest of the Markham Steam Coal Co, Ltd, in the leases of valuable mineral property of 1,400 acres of coal lying between the Tredegar and Oakdale properties.

 It continued to state that the output of coal at Tredegar was about 1,750,000 tons, at Oakdale it was about 600,000 tons and at Mark-ham it was 300,000 tons. The collieries were valued at £898,839 and the Company at £1,016,455. Profits made between 1899 and 1914 were £1,661,698. The board of directors was; Rt. Hon. Lord Aberconway, Chairman, E.A.J. Johnson-Ferguson, Arthur Lawrence, The Hon. Henry Duncan McLaren, Sir Arthur Basil Markham and Colonel A.K. Wyllie. This company was a member of the Monmouthshire South Wales Coal Owners Association. In 1934 its directors were, Lord Aberconway, Sir Edward Johnson-Ferguson, Evan Williams, N.J. McNeill and W.D. Woolley who was also the general manager. The secretary was H.O. Monkley. At that time the company directly controlled four collieries that employed 3,102 men who produced 990,000 tons of coal. It also had subsidiary companies to run Oakdale, Markham and Wyllie collieries.

On the first of July 1933, the prospectus for the Tredegar Company commented that:

It is, however, a feature of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company’s working that our older collieries – really old collieries, for our Ty Trist Colliery, celebrates its one-hundredth birthday this year – provide a substantial contribution to our profits. This result, as well as the relatively low costs that we obtain at our newer collieries, is a tribute to the excellent way in which Mr. Woolley and his staff of officials manage these collieries.

 In 1935 the colliery employed 99 men working on the surface of the mine and 821 men working underground producing 260,000 tons of coal. The manager in 1915/27 was G.E. Golding, in 1930 it was Evan Rees and in 1935/1945 it was A.F. Williams. In the 1940s the Lamp room had space for 1,000 electric hand-held lamps and 200 flame safety lamps, in use were 550 Oldham 4-volt hand-held lamps, 130 safety lamps and 25 Oldham cap lamps. The canteen was opened in 1944 and was funded by the Miners’ Welfare Committee. At that time underground there were one 200 hp, two, 150 hp and 2, 100 hp haulages and numerous subsidiary compressed air and electric haulages under 50 hp. The dilapidated coke ovens were closed down in March 1945. The longwall method of coal extraction was in use at this colliery, it gave total coal extraction.

On Nationalisation in January 1947, Ty Trist Colliery was placed in the National Coal Board’s, South Western Division’s, No.6 (Monmouthshire) Area, Tredegar Group, and at that time employed 144 men working on the surface of the mine and 404 men working underground in the Meadow Vein and Old Coal seams. The manager was still A.F. Williams. The Coal News dated September 1950 reported on Alice James aged 74 years and the last surviving woman that had worked on the surface of a colliery in the South Wales Coalfield. She was also the first woman member of the South Wales Miners Federation. She had worked on the screens at Ty Trist Colliery.

In 1950 all the coal seams except the Meadow Vein had been exhausted and total reserves in this seam were estimated at 1,700,000 tons. This seam was dogged by difficult conditions and a weak roof with 18 to36 inches of clod falling when the 24 to 30 inch seam was cut. At that time ventilation was by a Waddle type fan (installed in 1919 and renewed in 1936) which had a 17 feet 6 inch diameter and generated 250,000 cubic feet of air per minute. It was electrically driven with a 200 hp motor. There was also a Capel fan which was 12 feet 6 inches by 8 feet 6 inches and had a 150 hp motor.

The pumping of excess water up the shafts was done by two Sulzer horizontal centrifugal pumps capable of 800 gallons per minute. They pumped up 406,294 gallons per day. These were installed in 1945. The washery had a capacity for 75 tons of coal per hour. In 1954 the manager was H. Williams. In the year before it closed, Ty Trist Colliery was working the Garw seam. Ty Trist Colliery generally produced type 301A Prime Coking Coals that were used for foundries and blast furnace cokes. It closed on the 31st of January 1959.

Some of those who died at this colliery:

• 4/4/1860, Thomas Morgan Age: 34: Collier: Fall of the roof in drawing back his stall. If he had kept under the protection of the props he would have been safe.
• 19/10/1863, William Williams, Age: 33: Collier: When the haulier went into the poor mans stall he found him covered with debris and quite dead. A fall of stone and rubbish had taken place which overwhelmed him.
• 30/4/1864, James Davis Age: 22: Engineman: The fly-wheel of the underground engine suddenly flew into pieces one of which smashed into the steam pipe and the poor young man was scalded to death.
• 23/9/1867, Edward Lewis, Age: 28: Collier: Fall of coal whilst drawing it back.
• 28/10/1867, Rees Thomas Age: 25: Collier: There had been a fall near the sheet door which he imprudently kept open to fill his tram with the coal that had come down thus allowing gas to accumulate in the neighbouring stall. When he had finished loading the coal he with equal imprudence went right into the stall with a naked light (though provided with a safety lamp) and the gas immediately fired on 28th. He was so badly burnt that he died 31st.
• 15/12/1868, Thomas Morgan Age: 62: Collier: Fall of engine coal in his working place whereby he was injured and died 22nd.
• 7/5/1869, Elija Reed, Age: 46: Collier: Fall of stone and rubbish while drawing timber.
• 13/10/1869, William Southway, Age: 18: Haulier: Crushed between trams and rib.
• 18/2/1870, John Badden, Age: 21: Collier: Fall of clod over yard coal.
• 1/7/1871, George Walker, Age: 14: Collier: Explosion of firedamp 1st. 7 injured. Died 9th.
• 1/7/1871, William Benyon, Age: 54 : Labourer: Crushed between railway waggons In passing between the buffers of two trucks which were slowly moving, he got his head between them and was killed.
• 18/9/1871, Thomas Jones Age: 41: Collier: Riding on engine plane when coupling broke and he was crushed to death.
• 30/10/1874, Thomas T. Evans, Age: 63: Collier: Fall of clod. Died 1st November.
• 1/12/1874, James Gray, Age: 33: Collier: Explosion of firedamp in Old Ty Trist Colliery Died 10th.
• 24/7/1877, Edward Jones Age: 54: Collier: Fall of coal.
• 17/6/1878, Elizabeth Prothero, Age: 17: Tip girl: She was cleaning the sidings on the surface and just before the accident was told by the man in charge to move out of the way as he was about to shunt some waggons. She did not do so and was crushed to death by them. Female.
• 26/10/1878, Thomas Carter, Age: 60: Collier: Fall of roof.
• 24/2/1879, Samuel Budd, Age: 47: Timberman: Fall of coal.
• 1/4/1879, David Morgan Age: 35: Journey rider: He was struck by the rope on an engine plane
• 19/11/1879, Joseph Davies, Age: 19: Haulier: Fall of stone caused by tram getting off way and knocking out some timber.
• 23/3/1880, John Jones Age: 34: Waggon trimmer: Crushed between waggons on the surface.
• 29/4/1880, Edward Brain, Age: 14: Collier: The boy was standing ahout two yards and a half from the face when a piece of clod fell and knocked out a prop, which in falling struck him on the head.
• 24/6/1880, David Davies Age: 38: Hitcher: Killed by a piece of coal falling down the shaft.
• 19/7/1881, L. Carter, Age: 18: Collier: Fall of stone.
• 26/8/1881, J. Wild, Age: 17: Hitcher: After finishing his dinner he was crossing the shaft to resume work a collier tried to stop him but was too late, and the cage came down on him.
• 1/11/1881, E. Griffiths, Age: 53: Haulier: His horse was heard to stop and he was found dead under the trams but there was no evidence to show how he got there.
• 13/7/1882, Thomas Price, Age: 43: Collier: Fall of coal.
• 1/12/1882, John Griffiths Age: 19: William Jones Age: 14, Colliers: Injured by an explosion of firedamp, and died on the 18th. 2 killed
• 28/10/1884, George Jackson, Age: 13: Collier Fall of coal.
• 11/12/1884, Edwin Lawrence, Age: 44: Collier: Injured by a fall of coal, and died on the 31st.
• 1/1/1891, Thomas Davies Age: 22: Repairer: Fall of roof coal where engaged timbering.
• 1/10/1891, James Morgan Age: 16: Colliers boy: Crushed by a tram which he attempted to let down a few yards on the engine plane to where it was required by the men repairing.
• 22/4/1893, Frank Pagett, Age: 26: Collier: Fall of coal and clod at the working face while engaged holing.
• 6/10/1893, David Worthington, Age: 17: Collier. He was crushed between railway trucks while crossing the colliery sidings on his way home from work.
• 28/7/1885, John Davies Age: 48: Collier: Fall of coal
• 18/1/1889, George Gould, Age: 35: Collier: While engaged in getting a piece of coal which had been duly spragged burst off the face and stuck him causing injuries from which he died on the 27th.
• 1/10/1889, Thomas Jenkins, Age: 50: Roadman: He fell over a steel roller on the engine place when leaving work and injured his breast bone He died on the l2th of October.
• 14/10/1896, John James, Age: 18: Collier: When walking out from work with others along the engine plane thinking the journey in front of them was going out it approached them the others got safely into the manholes but deceased failing to do so was knocked down and fatally crushed.
• 19/8/1897, Charles Meredith, Age: 25: Collier: Killed instantly by a fall of stone from the roof
• 31/8/1910, Claude Stow, age: 16: Collier: Fall of roof at working face.
• 8/12/1910, G.N. Morgan, Age: 22: Engineman: Drawn into machinery while cleaning pinion shaft of haulage engine in motion.
• 12/5/1911, W.T. Lloyd, Age: 17: Collier boy: Fall of side at working face.
• 25/5/1911, Jepheniah Jones Age: 43: Boilerman: While cleaning out the bottom flue of a Lancashire boiler, he was taken ill with cerebral haemorrhage and died four hours later.
• 19/7/1911, Evan Morgan Age: 38: Repairer: Fall of roof on road. Just after completing some repairs at a junction of return airways, the roof collapsed and buried him.
• 15/3/1913, David John Jervis, age: 24: Albert Edwards, Age: 24, Colliers: Fall of roof on heading.
• 23/10/1913, John Jones, Age: 53: Labourer: He appears to have left a refuge hole just as an empty journey of trams passed it; he was caught by the front tram and killed.
• 26/6/1914, Richmond Davies Age: 26: Collier: Fall of roof near working face. He was engaged in lagging above a pair of timber when a fail occurred, killing him.
• 23/11/1925, David Davies, Age: 26: repairer: Using a bar to free coal cutting machine slipped and scotch was knocked out, died from septicaemia 9th Dec.
• 17/8/1928, William J. Harris, Age: 41: Haulier: Crushed by tram.

Some Statistics:

• 1889: Output: No.1 Pit: 94,362 tons, No.2 Pit: 88,736 tons.
• 1894: Output: 172,000 tons.
• 1896: Manpower: 618.
• 1899: Manpower: 633.
• 1901: Manpower: 777.
• 1902: Manpower: 1,240.
• 1903: Manpower: 1,343.
• 1905: Manpower: 922.
• 1907: Manpower: 1,106.
• 1908: Manpower: 1,163
• 1909: Manpower: 1,163.
• 1910: Manpower: 1,220.
• 1911: Manpower: 1,180.
• 1912: Manpower: 1,113.
• 1913: Manpower: 1,196.
• 1915: Manpower: 1,050.
• 1916: Manpower: 899.
• 1918: Manpower: 1,065.
• 1919: Manpower: 1,093.
• 1920: Manpower: 1,210.
• 1923: Manpower: 2,152.
• 1924: Manpower: 2,217.
• 1925: Manpower: 2,156.
• 1926: Manpower: 1,903.
• 1927: Manpower: 1,579.
• 1928: Manpower: 995.
• 1929: Manpower: 996.
• 1930: Manpower: 1,247.
• 1931: Manpower: 1,274.
• 1932: Manpower: 1,000.
• 1933: Manpower: 945.
• 1934: Manpower: 901.
• 1935: Manpower: 920. Output: 260,000 tons.
• 1937: Manpower: 696.
• 1938: Manpower: 526.
• 1940: Manpower: 505.
• 1945: Manpower: 591.
• 1947: Manpower: 548.
• 1948: Manpower: 504. Output: 120,000 tons.
• 1949: Manpower: 538. Output: 124,000 tons.
• 1950: Manpower: 514.
• 1953: Manpower: 345. Output: 72,000 tons.
• 1954: Manpower: 354. Output: 65,723 tons.
• 1955: Manpower: 355. Output: 70,093 tons.
• 1956: Manpower: 362. Output: 51,150 tons.
• 1957: Manpower: 378. Output: 51,879 tons.
• 1958: Manpower: 355. Output: 47,168 tons.

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