CWMAVON COLLIERY

Taibach, Port Talbot

This was a series of mines that were associated with the same name works and owned by Governor and Company in 1869. In 1896 a Cwmavon Slant was owned by Wright, Butler and Company of Cwmavon, it employed 134 men underground and 16 men on the surface with the manager being F.E. Jacob. In 1927 its mineral take was owned by Baldwin’s Limited.

  • The Upper-Four-Feet seam was worked around 1861, the Jonah seam around 1882, and the Golden Rider seam around 1903.
  • The Cwmavon No.1 worked the Yard, Four-feet and Five-Feet seams.
  • The No.9 was located at 791926 and closed in 1876, and the No.11 in 1863 (777926).
  • The Cwmavon Nos.5,6,7 & 12 worked the White, Clay and Jonah coal seams plus the ironstone Blackband. No.12 closed in 1863 (780926).
  • The Cwmavon No.10 worked the ironstone Sulphury vein until 1851.
  • The Cwmavon No.13 (785928) was linked to Bryn, Cwm Mawr, Meadow, Tewgoed, Tewgoed Bach, Tusker, Wern, Ynisavon and Ynisdavid. It worked the Finery, Tormynydd, Golden, Lower Four-Feet, Four-Feet, Jonah, Cwm Byr, Big, Clay and Hard coal seams plus the ironstone Sulphur and Big Veins until 1862.
  • The Cwmavon No.14 or Engine worked the Big, Yard, Four-Feet, Five-Feet, Upper Four-Feet, Clay and Balance coal seams around 1862.
  • The Cwmavon No.21 worked the Five-Feet and Lower Four-Feet seams until 1867 (790924).
  • The Cwmavon No.24 worked the Golden, Tormynydd, Jonah, Golden Rider, White, Cwm Mawr and Clay coal seams plus the Blackband ironstone seam. It was linked to or also called the Black Band Lower, Black Band Upper, Clay Lower, Clay Upper, Middle, Oakwood, Tormynydd Lower and Tormynydd Middle.
  • The Cwmavon No.27 worked the White and Tormynydd seams until 1866.
  • The Cwmavon No.28 (804940) worked the Wernddu and Wernpistyll Rider seams until 1866.
  • The Cwmavon No.29 worked the Wernddu and Field Vein until 1862.
  • The Cwmavon No.30 worked the Wernddu seam.
  • The Cwmavon No.31 worked the White and Tormynydd seams until 1876.
  • The Cwmavon No.49 worked the Wernddu seam around 1877.
  • The Cwmavon No.56 worked the Golden seam. The No.57 closed in 1874.
  • The Cwmavon No.63 worked the White, Clay and Jonah seams around 1863.
  • The Cwmavon Balance Pits Nos. 11 & 12 worked the Lower Four-Feet, Big Vein, Finery and ironstone.
  • The Cwmavon, Bryn worked the Upper Four-Feet and Finery seams around 1876.
  • The Cwmavon linked to or named Bryn Gurnos, Carn, Cockshott, Upper Cockshott, Middle No.9, Truro, Upper No.9, Ynisdavid worked the Four-Feet, Clay, Finery coal seams plus the ironstone New Mine and Cockshott veins.
  • The Cwmavon Clay worked Clay.
  • The Cwmavon, Cwm Bont worked an unnamed seam.
  • The Cwmavon, Cwm Evan Bach worked the Wernddu seam around 1859.
  • The Cwmavon, Cwm Evan Bach, Rock, Yard worked the Wernddu, Field, Rider and Wernypistyll seams.
  • The Cwmavon Finery worked the Big, Finery and Upper Four-Feet seams around 1881.
  • The Cwmavon Finery, Meadow, worked the Finery, Upper Four-Feet, Big Vein, Lower Four-Feet, Lower Four and Five-Feet, Yard, and Clay plus ironstone.
  • The Cwmavon Meadow worked the Upper Four-Feet, Finery, Four and Five-Feet, Clay and Yard seam around 1881.
  • The Cwmavon Middle No.9 worked the Finery and Rider seams around 1876.
  • The Cwmavon Oakwood worked the Mawr seam around 1882.
  • The Cwmavon Patch worked the ironstone New Mine, Yellow and Sulphury veins around 1847.
  • The Cwmavon, Tormynydd worked the Tormynydd seam.
  • The Cwmavon Wern No.1 worked the Upper Four-Feet, Lower Four-Feet, Big, Sulphury, Finery and Five-Feet coal seams plus ironstone.
  • The Cwmavon Ynisdavid worked the Big, Five-feet, Lower Four-Feet, Balance, Upper Four-Feet and Finery seam around 1872.
  • The Cwmavon Ynisafan abandoned the Two-Feet-Nine seam in November 1906.
  • The Cwmavon, Maesmelyn or Cwm Bont worked the Four-Feet, Five-Feet, Yard and Clay coal seams plus the Spotted Pin and Jack veins of ironstone. Also see Oakwood Colliery.

Just some of those that died at these mines;

  • 26/03/1852, Levi Rees, Age: 24: Collier: fall of roof.
  • 13/11/1852, David Jones, Age: 10: Run over by wagons. Not at work.
  • 21/01/1853, Richard Owen, Age: 27: Collier: Roof struck head in riding a tram.
  • 13/05/1853, David Daniel, Age: 23: Labourer Loaded coal wagons passed over
  • 8/12/1853, William Williams, aged 13 years, Trammer, William Rees, aged 35 years, collier: Fall of rubbish from top of balance pit. 3 killed.
  • 2/06/1854, James Thorne, Age: 25: Driver: Run over by trams.
  • 25/02/1858, William Davies Age: 13: Collier: Fall of stall from the roof.
  • 28/11/1859, Edward Thomas, Age: 13: Haulier: Fall of shale.
  • 30/11/1859, Benjamin Davies, Age: 27: Haulier: Loaded tram of coal falling on him.
  • 26/01/1860, John Williams, Age: 17. Haulier: Crushed between trams and roof.
  • 7/06/1860, Nathan Llewellyn, Age: 14: Haulier: Crushed between trams and heading.
  • 2/08/1860, David Richards, Age: 52: Fireman: Suffocation.
  • 13/05/1861, Ebenezer Jones: Miner: fall of roof.
  • 5/06/1861, John Child, Age: 35: Collier: Fall of the roof.
  • 8/7/1862, David Jones Age: 18: Collier: Fall of the roof.
  • 11/06/1863, John Rees, Age: 16: Labourer. Run over on the incline.
  • 6/08/1863, Benjamin Heycock: Miner: Fall of the roof.
  • 15/09/1864, Thomas Lewis, Age: 16: Haulier: Crushed by trams.
  • 20/09/1864 John Morgan, Age: 27: Miner: Fall of stone.
  • 22/12/1864, Joseph Llewellyn, Age: 60: Labourer: Fell from the screen.
  • 2/12/1867, John Thomas, Age: 14: Haulier: By falling under a tram
  • 17/11/1871, Jacob John, Age: 18: Trammer: Killed by trams.
  • 18/06/1879, Hugh Bennett, Age: 16, Benjamin Roblyn, aged 13, Evan Parker, aged 62, Thomas Jones, Age: 19, David Williams, aged 19, William Lewis, aged 49: Colliers: Killed by breakage of new rope while descending pit.
  • 6/06/1882, Daniel George, Age: 36: Collier: Fall of coal.
  • 17/04/1884 William Jenkins, Age: 45: Haulier: Fell under trams on the surface.
  • 6/06/1889, Alfred Griffith, miner: Fall of roof (rock)

Some statistics:

  • 1899: Manpower: 95.
  • 1900: Manpower: 117.
  • 1901: Manpower: 90.
  • 1902: Manpower: 93.
  • 1903: Manpower: 80.

 

YNYSAFON (YNYS AFAN) COLLIERY

Cwmavon, 782925

This was a small level shown in 1893 as being owned by B.A. Griffiths & Company of Cwmavon, at that time there were 7 men employed underground. In 1896 it was owned by the Ynysafan Colliery Company of Cwmavon and in that year employed 4 men underground and 1 man on the surface but they stopped working it in 1897. In 1900 it employed 17 men with J.P. Williams as the manager but was shown as discontinued in 1901/2. It was back in action in 1903 when it was Anglicised and the owners were the Ynysavon Colliery Company of Cwmavon who employed 3 men underground and no men at the surface. It abandoned the Upper Four-Feet seam in July 1907.

In 1908 it was owned by the Eagle Brick and Tile Company of Port Talbot and employed 2 men ‘opening’ but in 1910 it was listed as idle.. It was not listed in 1913, but shown in 1917 as being worked by Lewis and

Davies formed the Ynysafon Coal Company, which was not a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association. In 1918 the owners were the Ynyslas Colliery Company of Port Talbot and this mine employed 60 men with the manager being W. Rees.

 

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

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