Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil (SO 05420408)

This pit was originally sunk to the steam coal seams and was owned by David Williams in 1858, William Crawshay in 1865/8 and by 1870 the Plymouth Iron Company who used it to feed their works. Although the Plymouth Iron Works closed in the 1880s with the decline of the iron trade, the Hill’s Plymouth Company continued to work their mining interests and employed 3,000 men in their pits in 1907.

Three pits were sunk at Abercanaid. The No.1 Pit to the Lower-Four-Feet seam at a depth of 150 yards. The No.2 Pit (Furnace) was sunk to the Seven-Feet seam at a depth of 131 yards, and the No.3 Pit was sunk to the Nine-Feet seam at a depth of 60 yards. Amongst the other seams, it extensively worked the Red Vein and the Nine-Feet seam. The Lower-Four-Feet, Lower-Two-Feet-Nine, and Red Vein seams were abandoned in January 1897 while the Five-Feet-Six seam was abandoned in June 1902.

Generally, its coal was classed as types 202 and 203 Coking Steam Coals, weak to medium caking, low volatile, with an ash content of around 5%, plus a low sulphur content. The coals were used for steam raising and coking purposes. In December 1890, Abercanaid became the first village in the country to have electric street lighting which was supplied from the Abercanaid Colliery. Twenty-five lights were installed. The success of this experiment led to the installation of electric haulages underground in July 1891 to eventually do away with horses. It is claimed that it became the first colliery to have an underground electric haulage installed which was sited about one kilometre in from the shafts (The Historical Development of Electrical Power Cables by EWP Jones C Eng MIEE Fellow in the Mining Technology journal of January 1983).

On Thursday the 24th of May 1889 a roof fall at this colliery killed one miner, injured two others and trapped 58 others for some time. In 1889 it produced 211,831 tons of coal while owned by the Mortgagees of the Plymouth Works and in 1894 it produced 234,905 tons of coal. Abercanaid Colliery was managed by William Williams Green in 1896 when it employed 649 men underground and 61 men on the surface, in 1899 it employed 997 men and in 1900 it employed 1,047 men. In 1901 it employed 904 men.

It was closed in 1902 because it was unprofitable, yet it employed 201 men in 1933 and 577 men in 1937.

Just some of those that died at this mine;

 

  • 6/12/1872, Thomas Williams, aged 52, haulier, shaft accident.
  • 19/3/1885, Thomas Challinger, aged 22, trimmer, fell down pit.
  • 25/3/1886, Thomas Jones, aged 22, collier, fell down shaft.
  • 17/11/1886, Thomas Rees, aged 22, hitcher, crushed by cage.
  • 5/12/1886, David Williams, aged 60, flueman, roof fall.
  • 26/3/1888, John Jones, aged 57, collier, roof fall.
  • 9/4/1888, John Griffin, aged 23, collier, explosion of gas.
  • 2/7/1888, Daniel Evans, aged 14, doorboy, crushed by trams.
  • 18/9/1888, Thomas Williams, aged 33, collier, roof fall.
  • 18/9/1888, Charlotte Jones, aged 23, screen woman, run over by wagons.
  • 16/1/1889, John Lewis, aged 43, timber man, roof fall.
  • 23/5/1889, Richard Jones, aged 17, labourer, roof fall.
  • 18/12/1889, David Arscott, aged 14, door boy, run over by trams.
  • 7/4/1892, Edward Rees, aged 31, haulier, roof fall.
  • 9/10/1893, Thomas Davies, aged 16, collier boy, roof fall.
  • 6/2/1895, John Power, aged 29, wagon shunter, crushed by wagons.
  • 26/2/1895, Walter Edwards, aged 22, labourer, roof fall.
  • 4/4/1895, William Williams, aged 41, collier, run over by trams.
  • 18/4/1895, Thomas Edmunds, aged 56, collier, crushed by trams.
  • 25/10/1995, William Walters, aged 28, ripper, roof fall.
  • 10/3/1897, Alfred Morgan, aged 18 years, collier, roof fall.
  • 24/3/1897, George Jones, aged 41, screen man, run over by wagons.
  • 28/6/1897, Thomas Morgan, aged 56 years, ripper, crushed by trams.
  • 23/3/1898, Edward Richards, age 17, collier, roof fall.
  • 1/3/1899, Rees Lewis, aged 42, collier, roof fall.
  • 5/6/1899, Rees Davies, aged 67, airwayman, run over by trams.
  • 26/10/1899, Ben Davies, aged 14, collier boy, roof fall.
  • 25/11/1899, John Lloyd, aged 20, collier, roof fall.
  • 25/11/1899, Edgar Herbert, aged 43, collier, roof fall.

 

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

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