CANAL COLLIERY
Rhyd y car 043053
This mine was opened in c1893 by the Crawshay Brothers (Cyfarthfa) Limited and produced 7,803 tons of coal in 1894 along with the Colliers Row Pit. It employed 80 men underground and 8 men on the surface in 1909/10 and 91 men in 1911, the manager being Matt Truran. In 1913 there were 56 men at this level and overall 2,755 men in the nine mines that the Crawshays worked in the Merthyr Tydfil area. They were all managed by Matthew Truran. In 1915 this mine employed 74 men, in 1918 the mine employed 22 men underground and 5 men on the surface. It was closed in 1921 and used as a watercourse to protect the other local mines from flooding. It must have reopened for in 1923 it employed 41 men working underground and 7 men working at the surface of the mine and was owned by Thomas Merthyr Colliery Co. Ltd. It was abandoned in 1925. Canal Colliery produced both house and manufacturing coals mainly from the Bute and Nine-Feet seams.
CWM COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil
This colliery consisted of two shafts sunk to a depth of 125 yards in the 1860s to feed the Plymouth Iron Works. Owned by R.T. Crawshay in the 1870s and managed by M. Bates in 1878/84. It was owned by the Crawshay Brothers (Cyfarthfa) Ltd., in the first decades of the 20th Century. This company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. On the 19th of June 1894, Lewis Jones, aged 20 years and a collier, died under a roof fall at this mine, he was just one of the many. It employed 681 men underground and 99 men on the surface in 1896 when managed by David R Morgan, 947 men in 1907 and 897 men underground and 143 on the surface in 1908/9. There were 966 men at this pit in 1911. This had dropped dramatically to 39 men in 1913 and 51 men underground and 16 on the surface in 1918. In 1923 it employed 94 men working underground and 22 men working at the surface of the mine. During this period it was managed by the general manager of all of Crawshay’s mines, Matthew Truran. It was abandoned in March 1924.
Some statistics:
- 1889: Pit Output: 78,517 tons, Levels Output: 76,204 tons.
- 1894: Output: 182,237 tons.
- 1896: Manpower: 780.
- 1899: Manpower: 735.
- 1900: Manpower: 815.
- 1901: Manpower: 851.
- 1902: Manpower: 838.
- 1903: Manpower: 823.
- 1905: Manpower: 880.
- 1907: Manpower: 948.
- 1908: Manpower: 1,040.
- 1909: Manpower: 1,040.
- 1910: Manpower: 802.
- 1911: Manpower: 966.
- 1912: Manpower: 43.
- 1913: Manpower: 39.
- 1918: Manpower: 67.
- 1920: Manpower: 95.
- 1922: Manpower: 95.
- 1923: Manpower: 116.
- 1924: Manpower: 91.
BRAZIL COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 078034, 078025, 079029
It appears to have been opened in 1883 and worked by Hill’s Plymouth Company. It produced, with the Saron Level, 45,827 tons of coal in 1889 and together in 1894 they produced 34,792 tons. Work was stopped in 1895 and the place was abandoned in 1897.
It was reopened by the same company in 1903 and employed 33 men in 1907 and 54 men underground and 3 men on the surface with the manager being H. Thomas in 1908. In 1912 it employed 20 men. The manager at that time was Alfred North. It was finally abandoned in February 1912 and its equipment auctioned off.
It worked the No.1 Rhondda coal seam for house coal.
Some statistics:
- 1903: Manpower: 11.
- 1905: Manpower: 29.
- 1907: Manpower: 33.
- 1908: Manpower: 57.
- 1913: Manpower: 20.
BWLLFA COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil 072039
This mine was worked by Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited in 1931/34, it employed 90 men underground and 20 men on the surface and was managed by T. Jones. This Company had taken over the collieries of Hills Plymouth Company in 1927 and was part of D.R. Llewellyn’s empire. It was based at the South Duffryn Pit in 1934 it employed 1,780 men producing 500,000 tons of coal annually from 7 pits and levels in the Merthyr area.
COLLIERS ROW COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil Old/Upper 044051. Lower/New 045050
The Colliers Row level worked the Six-Feet seam while the Colliers Row pit worked the Bute and Nine-Feet seams. It was also called Pwll Bach and opened in 1883. In 1884 it was managed by W. Bates. In 1889 it produced 17,381 tons of coal and in 1894 it produced 7,805 tons of coal. This level was one of the ten mines that the Crawshay Brothers (Cyfarthfa) Limited operated in 1907 when it employed 61 men and in 1908 when it employed 58 men underground and 8 men on the surface, in 1911 it employed 75 men and in 1913 it employed 187 men, in 1915 it employed 228 men, in 1916 it employed 182 men, and in 1918 it employed 50 men underground and 7 men on the surface. In 1919/22 it employed 78 men. Finally, in 1923 the New employed 46 men working underground and 6 men working at the surface of the mine. During this period it was managed by Matthew Truran as were all of the Crawshay’s mines. It was abandoned in March 1924.
CWMFELIN COLLIERY
Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil
The difficulty in tracing the smaller levels is that some listings fail to mention the ones that employ less than ten men. I can only find this level mentioned in 1907 when it employed 39 men, in 1908/9 when it employed 14 men underground and 2 men on the surface, in 1911 it employed 15 men and in 1913/15 when it was owned by the Crawshay Brothers (Cyfarthfa) Limited it employed ten men. In 1916 it employed 20 men, in 1918 it employed 54 men underground and 11 men on the surface and in 1919 it employed 80 men, in 1920/2 it employed 62 men and finally in 1923 it employed 49 men working underground and 9 men working at the surface. The manager of this mine and of all the Crawshay mines in this period was Matthew Truran. This level was abandoned in March 1924.
ELLIS COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil 062044
This was a small 19th-century level opened to feed the Pentrebach Iron Works. It was 122 yards deep and worked for ironstone.
GILFACH COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 071031
This small level was owned by Hill’s Merthyr Company. In 1920 there were 18 men opening the mine but by 1921 it was listed as work suspended and by 1923 was used for ventilation purposes only. It was abandoned in 1935.
GLYNDYRYS COLLIERY
Abercanaid 051043
This mine was probably opened in the mid-1800s by the Cyfarthfa Iron Company, possibly to a depth of 426 feet and was still shown as working on the 1921 map of the Coalfield. In 1896 it employed 167 men underground and 28 men on the surface, the manager was D.R. Morgan. It was closed in March 1924.
GRAWERTH COLLIERY
Pentrebach 067045
This small level was owned by R. Williams in 1902/5 when it employed four men working the Four-Feet seam for housecoal. In 1906/7 it was owned by Williams and Sons in 1908 and 1909 it was owned by John Wilkins and employed 10 and 12 men respectively.
MERTHYR VALE GREEN MEADOW COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw, 079018
This was a small level that was owned by Richard Price in 1908 when it employed four men working underground and one man working on the surface of the mine. In 1910 it was owned by D.H. James and Company and employed 5 men, it employed 6 men in 1912. It was not worked in 1913 and in 1914 it was owned by Thomas Evans who employed 5 men. It abandoned the No.1 Rhondda or Danyderi seam in December 1915.
LADY THOMAS COLLIERY
Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil
This level was managed by T. Morris and employed 47 men underground and 4 men working on the surface in 1918 when it was owned by Thomas’ Merthyr Colliery Company of Abercanaid. I have no other dates for it.
NANTRODYN COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 072041
This was a small level that worked the No.3 Rhondda seam under the ownership of Hill’s Plymouth Company which opened it in 1909. It employed 21 men in 1910, 38 men in 1912, and 36 men in 1913 when it was managed by J.M. Green but is not on my 1917 listings. In 1918 it was listed as abandoned, while in 1945 it was listed as being temporarily closed since August 1937.
NORTH DUFFRYN COLLIERY
Abercanaid, Merthyr Tydfil
Two shafts were sunk between 1837 and 1856 by the Plymouth Iron Company. The No.1 Pit was sunk to the Nine-Feet seam which it found at a depth of 162 yards. The No.2 Pit was sunk to the Lower-Four-Feet seam which it found at a depth of 213 yards. The No.2 Pit was later used as the upcast ventilation shaft for South Duffryn Colliery. In 1880 a 40 feet in diameter Waddle type fan was installed. In 1903 it employed two men, in 1905 it employed 8 men and in 1907 it employed 18 men.
PENDDEUCAE COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 079022, 079018
This small mine was opened in 1908 by the Jenkins Brothers and abandoned the No.2 Rhondda seam in April 1914.
PENTRE-BACH COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil 062043
This was a small level that was worked In the Red Vein which had a thickness of coal 26 inches, dirt 4 inches, coal 10 inches. It employed 18 men underground and 3 men on the surface in 1896 when managed by William Williams Green. It was opened in 1896 and closed in 1898.
POND COLLIERY
Abercanaid 175121
This level was used to produce housecoal from the Yard seam. It was worked between 1923 and 1928 by David Williams who employed at the most 4 men. It was then re-started by him in 1929 and worked until 1940 being abandoned in 1944.
TREBEDDAU COLLIERY
Abercanaid, 060058
There was a balance pit called Tre-beddau worked by the Plymouth Iron Company in 1871/72.
This was a small level that was owned by Margaret Simons between 1902 and 1907employed 8 men in 1902 and 12 men in 1903 and abandoned the Gellideg seam in December 1907 when it employed 5 men working underground and 2 men at the surface. The Trebeddau Gorlwyn level was worked by the Llewellyn Merthyr Colliery Company in 1915, the Thomas & Lewis Merthyr Colliery Company in 1916 and the Thomas Merthyr Colliery Company in 1917. It worked the Two-Feet-Nine seam. This company is listed as owning Trebeddau from 1918 to 1924 when it passed into the hands of T.L. Williams. It was abandoned in 1926. The Trebeddau No.2 Level (059058) was worked by John and David Lewis in 1906 and by the Jenkins Brothers (1907/08) It was re-opened in 1909 and employed 5 men while in 1910 they employed 4 men in the No.2 Level. There were 3 men working in the No.2 Level in 1912. It was abandoned in 1916.
UPPER ABERCANAID COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil
This mine was used by the Plymouth Iron Company until the 1930s for pumping and ventilation purposes.
TAIBACH COLLIERY
Pentrebach 067037
This mine was sunk in the 1850’s to the Nine-Feet seam which it struck at a depth of 150 yards. It was owned by the Plymouth Iron Company and used to feed their Iron Works at Merthyr Tydfil. This mine employed 11 boys under the age of thirteen years in 1842. It was still working in 1878, then under the ownership of the Aberdare Plymouth Company Limited with the manager being John Jenkins. In 1889 it was owned by the Mortgagees of the Plymouth Works and produced 58,890 tons of coal while in 1894 it produced 40,202 tons of coal. It was abandoned in 1895.
The levels (No.1 – 067037) worked the Pentre and Abergorky seams from 1903. In 1905 it employed 41 men, in 1907 it employed 37 men and in 1908 it was managed by Henry John and employed 42 men underground and 1 man on the surface. It was not worked between 1911 and 1912 with the No.2 opening in 1913 along with the No.3 drift (066038) while the No.4 was opened in 1914. It is shown in 1923/5 as being owned by Hill’s Plymouth Company Limited employing 81 men working underground and 17 men working at the surface of the mine in 1923 when the manager was H.P. Jones. It was closed in 1924.
THOMAS’ MERTHYR
046034
This was a small level that worked the No.3 Rhondda seam between 1907 and September 1908. It was owned by Thomas’ Merthyr Collieries Limited of Merthyr and in 1907 it employed 43 men working underground and 6 men at the surface. The manager was Watkin Moses. In 1909 it employed 14 men.
TROEDYRHIW COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil
This small level has a mention in 1860 when it was owned by Thomas of Aberaman and in 1865/70 when it was owned by a partnership of Cope, Lewis, Thomas and Collindon. It was not listed in 1878.
WAUN (WAIN) COLLIERY
Troedyrhiw 064049
This was a level that worked the Yard, Two-Feet-Nine and Four-Feet seams for the Plymouth Iron Company. It was opened in 1873 and abandoned in 1919.
WERN COLLIERY
Merthyr Tydfil 044055
This level was opened in the Lower-Two-Feet-Nine seam by Thomas Merthyr Colliery Company in 1924 and closed in 1925. . It was abandoned in March 1924.
Information supplied by Ray Lawrence and used here with his permission.
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