Abergelli Colliery

Near Swansea (651018)

This drift was opened just to the north of Brynwhillach Colliery in 1930 by the Graigola Merthyr Co. Ltd., which was a subsidiary of the Cory Brothers.  In 1945 it was managed by D.J. Price and employed, along with Clydach Merthyr, 453 men underground and 140 men at the surface.

Abergelli worked the Graigola Four-Feet seam in the late 1940s and 1950s under the control of the National Coal Board. It was listed by the NCB together with Clydach Merthyr Colliery in 1954 when the manpower for both slants totalled 425 underground and 98 on the surface. From then on Clydach Merthyr covers both the slants, although in 1958 Abergelli is shown working the North West 2 District as a training coalface.

It consisted of a cross-measures drift driven down from the surface for 180 yards, dipping 12 inches per yard to the Four-Feet seam.  From the Four-Feet seam level, it continued down for another 530 yards, at a dip of 18 inches to the yard, to the Graigola seam. The production of this mine was taken out via a link to Clydach Merthyr.  For a small slant, the surface had many facilities including a boiler house, fan house, pump room, cornish boiler, a winder with 25-inch cylinders, a drying room, cycle shelter, powder and oil stores, and an ambulance room with stretchers, table and cupboard. Fitting and electrical shops and a smithy.  A McLane tipper with a rope length of 700 yards.

The surface electrical substation was fed from Graig Merthyr Colliery by 4,100 yards of overhead lines. Underground the Main South haulage was 125 hp with 1,350 yards of rope, the Main North haulage was 90 hp. with 1,000 yards of rope.  The East and West level haulages were main and tail types.  The haulage in the R District was a 15 hp pikrose.

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