BALCA COLLIERY
Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil (070037)

This mine appears on the lists in 1907 when it employed 12 men, in 1908 when it employed 30 men, in 1910 when it employed 68 men, in 1912 when it employed 44 men and in 1913 when it employed 81 men. It was owned by Hill’s Plymouth Company. And worked the Hafod seam.

In the period 1957/58 a licensed mine of this name was owned by H.J. Hill but it is recorded as employing no men and producing no coal. In 1958E. Thomas took charge but even he gave up and the mine closed in 1959.

CWMBLACKS COLLIERY
Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil.Pit 062055. Levels 059054, 059053

This mine was recorded in 1877 as working the Nine-Feet seam with the old pit being worked by the water balance method of winding. It was then owned by the Aberdare and Plymouth Company. It was not then listed between 1881 and 1893 but then a Cwmblacks is owned by Abraham and Adams this was short-lived though and by 1895 it was not listed. In 1896 it was shown as being owned by Hill’s Plymouth Company and employed 2 men opening it. In 1907 it employed 11 men, in 1908 it employed 5 men underground and 2 men on the surface. It abandoned the Lower Four-Feet seam in May 1910. In 1913 Thomas’ Merthyr Colliery Company were working only the Waunwyllt Colliery, by 1917 they had four mines in operation, and Cwmblacks was one of them. In 1919/20 it employed 150 men and was managed by T. Morris. In 1921 they were back to one mine and Cwmblacks had disappeared off the records. Thomas’ Merthyr Colliery Company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association.

Finally, in 1957/58, D.B. Wigley held a license to work a Cwmblacks level but the venture seemed to have failed.

PEN-Y-LAN COLLIERY
Pentrebach, 074047, 074048

This was a small level that opened in 1881 and worked in 1905 when it employed 16 men, in 1907 when it employed 14 men and in 1913 by Hill’s Plymouth Company, employing 38 men in 1908 with the manager being Henry John, 67 men in 1910, 53 men in 1912 and 61 men in 1913. The average daily earnings for a miner in South Wales in 1913 was 6 shillings and 9 pence (34 pence). It was not listed in 1917.
A licensed mine of this name was opened on the same site in 1949 by Evan Jones, in 1954 it was Evan and Luther Jones and in 1954 to 1960 Luther Jones. Around 1957 it employed 16 men underground and 2 on the surface working the No.3 Rhondda seam. In 1960/76 it was owned by the Penylan Small Mines Limited of Merthyr and employed 16 men working underground in the No.3 Rhondda seam and 5 men working at the surface of the mine in 1969.

PWLL-GLAS COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw (081031)

This licensed mine is listed in 1970/75 as working the Brithdir seam under the ownership of W.J. Williams of Hengoed. In 1975/76 the owners were W.J. & A. J. Williams while in 1976/77 it was the Pwll Glas Coal Co. Ltd. It abandoned the Brithdir seam in 1977.

SARON COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw No.1: 072031. New: 075025.

This was a small level that was opened in 1877 by the Aberdare Plymouth Company Limited when it was managed by John Jenkins. It was not listed in 1879 to 1882 due to the financial collapse of that company but shows up in 1883 as owned by Messrs. Hankey. In 1889 along with the Brazil level it produced 45,827 tons of coal under the ownership of the Mortgagees of the Plymouth Works, in 1893 it was owned by Hill’s Plymouth Company and in 1894 it produced 34,792 tons and in 1896 it employed 86 men underground and 11 men on the surface being managed by W.W. Green. In 1908 Henry Thomas was the manager and it employed 139 men, while in 1917 W. Thomas was the manager and it employed 76 men before being abandoned that year. The New Saron Level was 850 yards to the south-west of the South Duffryn No.3 Pit and worked the seams between and including the Nos.2 and 3 Rhondda’s.

The Saron No.2 and 3 levels (073029, 073028 worked the No.3 Rhondda seam for house coal and were abandoned in 1922. The No.4 level (073025) also worked the No.3 Rhondda seam and closed in 1919.

It was also the name of a level that was worked under license from the National Coal Board in 1950/51 by E.J. Evans and between 1955 and 1956 by Glyndwr Harris.

TALDWYN COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 073027

This mine was listed in 1920/6 as being owned by the Hill’s Plymouth Company Limited employing 68 men working underground and 13 men working at the surface in 1923 when H. John was the manager. It employed 100 men in 1932. In 1935 it is shown as employing 20 men on the surface and 100 men underground under the ownership of Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited. It closed in that year. The manager at that time was T. Jones. 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.

A Taldwyn Colliery 073047, abandoned the No.3 Rhondda seam in 1963.

WILLMOST COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil (081038)

This was a small level that was worked under license from the National Coal Board in the 1980s Licensed mines accounted for 100,000 tons of production annually during this period.

It was opened in 1983 by M. Jones and M.W. Taylor who worked it until 1985 when D.V. and M. Austin and E.S. Lock took over. They worked it until 1986 when Evans. Price, Thomas and Stradling were the owners. They worked it until 1987.

WINCH FAWR COLLIERY
Abercanaid, 024062

Opened in the mid-1800s by the Crawshay Brothers (Cyfarthfa) Limited and was not listed by 1874. It appeared again in 1904 and in 1908/1913/1918/1919 managed by Matthew Truran the general manager of all the Crawshay mines. It employed 21 men in 1907 and 43 men underground and 14 on the surface in 1908, 31 men in 1910, 44 men in 1911, 11 men in 1913, 14 men in 1916, 15 men underground and 5 men on the surface in 1918, and 24 men in 1919. It worked the Six-Feet seam. It was abandoned in March 1924.

In 1956 there was a licensed mine of this name owned by D.W. Williams of Merthyr, no manpower or seam worked was listed for that year but in 1957 it produced 305 tons of coal with 2 men employed.

 

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

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