Wernlas Colliery

Pentrebach 064044

This mine was opened in 1902 by the Wernlas Coal Company and employed 3 men in 1903, 10 men in 1907, 18 men in 1908 when managed by Evan Jones, 26 men in 1913/16 when it was still managed by Evan Jones and still owned by the Wernlas Coal Company of Abercanaid. This company was not a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association.

In 1918 it was owned by T.W. Rees of Merthyr Tydfil and employed 74 men. In 1923 it was owned by Hill’s Plymouth Company and employed 133 men working underground and 27 men working at the surface of the mine with H.P. Jones as the manager. In 1927 it was owned by Hill’s (Llewellyn) Company and employed 150 men, in the 1931/3 period it employed 100 men and was closed temporarily in 1933, by 1935 it was in the hands of Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited employed 15 men working on the surface of the mine and 65 men working underground producing steam coals at this mine. 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.

It abandoned the Upper Two-Feet, Nine-Feet and Upper Four-Feet seams in 1935.

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