Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil.
This was one of the many mines worked by the Dowlais Iron Company towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was opened in 1874 and worked the Red Vein at a thickness of around 32”. The manager in 1878 was M. Truran and in 1884 it was John Jenkins. In 1889 it produced 76,716 tons of coal and in 1894 it produced 102,542 tons. Ventilation for this colliery was shared with Tunnel Colliery. At the turn of the 20th Century, it was working the Black Vein and Top seams producing about 700 tons of coal a week.
The Dowlais Iron Works were the first major works in the Merthyr Tydfil area when a furnace was opened in 1759 by Thomas Lewis and Partners on the estate of Lord Windsor. In 1782 John Guest joined the partnership followed in 1787 by Thomas Guest. The works was greatly developed and were one of the leading iron producers by the time the grandson of John Guest, John Josiah Guest came to control it. By 1845 the company employed 7,000 men with an annual wage bill of £250,000. Annual output stood at 140,000 tons of coal for the works alone and 70,000 tons of iron. This was the largest production in the world.
In the 1880s the works were in decline and in 1887 steel-making was moved to Cardiff, with only rail rolling left at Dowlais.
Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.
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