South Duffryn Colliery

Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil (07030314)

This colliery was flanked by the Penydarren Collieries to the north, Ogilvie Colliery to the east, Castle Colliery to the south and Abercanaid Colliery to the west. The No.1 Pit (North) and No.2 Pit (South) both had wooden head frames and oval shafts. New winding engines were installed for the No.1 in 1885 and the No.2 in 1890. Ventilation was by furnace until the 1870s. Later on the North Duffryn No.2 (South) Pit was used as the upcast shaft for this pit.

They were sunk to the Five-Feet seam which it found at a depth of 270 yards, with the No.3 Pit being sunk to the Nine-Feet seam to a depth of 623 feet 4 inches. The Gorllwyn seam was 13 inches in thickness. The Nine-Feet seam was 44 inches thick. The Upper-Four-Feet seam was extensively worked on and had a thickness of 80 inches. The Six-Feet seam was abnormal in this area and could thicken up to 28 feet 9 inches. The Nine-Feet seam was extensively worked and had a thickness of 9 feet 8 inches. The Bute seam was 21 inches thick. The Seven-Feet seam was worked and had a thickness of 48 inches. The Five Feet/Gellideg seam was also abnormal in this area and could thicken up to 12 feet 4 inches.

Generally, its coal was classed as type 202 and 203 Coking Steam Coal, weak to medium caking, low in ash and sulphur content, and used for steam raising in boilers for ships, locomotives etc. and for coking purposes.

The colliery was opened by Richard Hill of the Plymouth Iron Company. This Company became Hill’s Plymouth Colliery Company Limited when the Plymouth Iron Works closed down and the company concentrated on coal mining. It was the largest of this company’s collieries and was managed by Henry Thomas and employed 938 men underground and 134 men on the surface in 1896 when the manager was William Williams Green. In that year the South Duffryn Level employed 8 men underground. In 1908 the manager was Henry Thomas and the No.1 employed 1,340 men, the No.2 employed 378 men and the level 80 men. It employed 1,800 men in 1913 and 1,250 men in 1916. In 1918 the manager of the No.1 Pit was A. North and it employed 49 men underground and 171 men on the surface, while the No.2 Pit was managed by E Jones and employed 334 men underground and 93 men on the surface. Mr. North as also the manager of the South Duffryn Level which employed 192 men underground and 32 on the surface.

In 1919 the total manpower for the colliery was 1,300 men. In 1923 the managers were; No.1 Pit, D.J. Evans. No.2 Pit, David Davies. Levels, H. John. This company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. South Duffryn Colliery came under the control of Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited in 1927 when the No.1 Pit employed 900 men and the No.2 Pit employed 450 men. By 1935 the No.1 Pit employed 20 men on the surface and 180 men underground the No.2 Pit employed 90 men on the surface and 440 men underground and the South Duffryn Level employed 20 men on the surface and 100 men underground. The manager at that time was T. Jones. Mr. Jones was still manager in 1938 when the No.1 employed 351 men, the No.2 employed 94 men, there were 101 men working on the surface.

In 1934 Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited was based at the Colliery Office at South Duffryn with the directors being; Sir David R. Llewellyn, W.M. Llewellyn, H.H. Merrett, Sir John F. Beale, T.J. Callaghan and J.H. Jolly. The company secretary was T.W. Roach. It controlled five collieries that employed 1,780 men who produced 500,000 tons of coal.

The Colliery was closed as a production unit in November 1940.

On the 11th of November 1897, William Williams died in a haulage accident at this colliery – he was only twelve years of age and just one of the many who were killed there. Some of the others were:

• 10/12/1892, William Harris, aged 55, bratticeman, fell over a wall.
• 4/11/1893, Jonah Thompson, aged 26, stower, run over by trams.
• 14/3/1894, Enoch John, aged 38, collier, roof fall.
• 22/5/1894, William Roderick, aged 28, collier, roof fall.
• 2/6/1896, William Peglar, aged 21, collier, roof fall.
• 17/8/1896, Charles Williams, aged 33, collier, explosion of gas.
• 23/7/1897, John Thomas, aged 13, collier boy, explosion of gunpowder.
• 9/8/1897, James Thomas, aged 63, engineman, machinery.
• 12/8/1897, David Morgan, aged 58, haulier, roof fall.
• 16/8/1897, Jonathan Evans, aged 29, collier, roof fall.
• 26/10/1897, Thomas Edwards, aged 39, timberman, roof fall.
• 29/10/1897, John Davies, aged 35, oiler, crushed by trams.
• 11/11/1897, William Williams, aged 12, collier boy, haulage accident.
• 28/10/1898, Daniel Lewis, aged 52, timberman, roof fall.
• 7/4/1899, Edward Tucker, aged 17, collier, roof fall.
• 10/10/1899, David Parry, aged 13, collier boy, roof fall.

Some Statistics:

• 1889: Output: 197,060 tons.
• 1894: Output: 219,384 tons.
• 1896: Manpower: 1,072.
• 1899:Manpower: No.1: 856, No.2: 267.
• 1900: Manpower: No.1: 1,011, No.2: 365.
• 1901: Manpower: No.1: 1,018, No.2: 426.
• 1902: Manpower: 1,644.
• 1903: Manpower: 1,527.
• 1905: Manpower: No.1: 1,250, No.2: 465, Level: 105.
• 1907: Manpower: No.1: 1,123, No.2: 351, Level: 66.
• 1908: Manpower: No.1: 1,340, No.2: 378. Level: 80.
• 1909: Manpower: No.1: 1,200, No.2: 300.
• 1910: Manpower: No.1: 1,584, Level: 108.
• 1911: Manpower: No.1: 1,200, Level: 300.
• 1912: Manpower: 1,777.
• 1913: Manpower: 1,800.
• 1915: Manpower: 1,860.
• 1916: Manpower: 1,250.
• 1918: Manpower: No.1: 220, No.2: 427, Level 224.
• 1919: Manpower: 1,300.
• 1920: Manpower: 1,600.
• 1922: Manpower: No.1: 600, No.2: 400, Surface: 350.
• 1923: Manpower: No.1: Underground: 784, Surface: 157, No.2: Underground: 392, Surface: 85, Level: Underground: 222, Surface: 50.
• 1924: Manpower: No.1: 1,103, No.2: 522, Surface: 303.
• 1925: Manpower: No.1: 900, No.2: 450, Surface: 250.
• 1927: Manpower: No.1: 131, No.2: 565.
• 1928: Manpower: 855.
• 1930: Manpower: 780.
• 1933: Manpower: No.1: 44, No.2: 1,930, Surface: 40.
• 1935: Manpower: No.1: 200, No.2: 530, Level: 120.
• 1938: Manpower: No.1: 351, No.2: 94, Surface: 94.

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