Maesteg Merthyr Colliery

Maesteg, Llynfi Valley

This mine was also known locally as Oakwood Colliery. It was adjacent to the Garth Celtic Colliery and consisted of two oval shafts, one was 16 feet by 12 feet and the other was 18 feet by 12 feet. Both were sunk to the Lower-Four-Feet seam which they struck at a depth of 285 yards. It had a mineral take of 406 acres. It was opened on the site of a small pit previously worked by Charles Sheppard. This pit was purchased in 1864 by W. Davis (Davies) who carried out improvements to the surface facilities including the installation of a 40-foot Waddle Fan for ventilation. In May 1875 the Maesteg-Merthyr Colliery Company was wound up. This company had been formed in October 1873 to purchase this colliery. Out of its 16,000, £10 shares only 8,000 had been allotted, with the aforesaid William Davies the main mortgagee. It was intended to buy the pit for £155,000 if they could have raised the capital. It was still owned by Mr. Davies in 1882 when the manager was W. Williams.

Sometime in the 1880s ownership of the colliery was transferred to Messrs. Roberts and Jones who produced an average of 300 tons a day from this mine with the manpower of 250 men. In 1893 they struck the lower Four-Feet seam in the first sinking in this area to the south side of the anticline. The pit was idle for some months before it was sold to James Barrow who continued to sink the 16-foot diameter shaft to a depth of 300 yards to work the Four-Feet-Nine seam. In 1896 it was owned by the Maesteg Merthyr Colliery Company of Maesteg who employed 321 men underground and 70 men on the surface. The manager was David Evans. In 1899 both shafts were used to wind coal and the Nine-Feet, Seven-Feet, Lower-Four-Feet and Five-Feet seams were being worked. In that year it produced 62,787 tons of large coal, 30,558 tons of small coal and 26,776 tons of through coal. It also had 46 coke ovens on the surface of the mine. In 1907 it was in the hands of Elders Collieries Limited which was a subsidiary of the shipping company, Elders Dempster Ltd, and in that year employed81 men working underground in the Nine-Feet and Red Vein seams and 42 men at the surface of the mine. The manager was Peter Allen. In 1908 it employed 131 men underground and 49 men on the surface with the manager still being Peter Allen. It employed 350 men producing coking, house and steam coals in 1913. The manager was W.J. Barnes while in 1918 the manager was David Rees and it employed 163 men.

A book published by the Business Statistics Company in 1915 and titled ‘South Wales Coal and Iron Companies’ lists Elders Collieries Limited as now called Celtic Collieries Limited. It stated that; “This Company works the Garth and Maesteg Collieries at Llangonydd, Glamorganshire.” It valued its collieries at £243,984 with the company making a profit of £46,389 between 1911 and 1914. The board of directors consisted of; Sir Owen Phillips, Chairman, Charles E. Evans, David Jones, Philip Poore and O. Harrison Williams. Mr. Rees was still the manager in 1923 when it employed 194 men working underground and 32 men working at the surface of the mine. The strikes of 1921 and 1926 coupled with the trade depression of 1928 were too much for this colliery and it closed in 1928. At that time it was still owned by Celtic Collieries Limited.

On the 10th of January 1872 during the nightshift an explosion at this pit (then called Oakwood) killed the eleven miners, who were all repairers, underground at the time, those that died were:

• Caleb Davies aged 28.
• John Edwards aged 17.
• James Evans aged 20.
• Daniel James aged 21.
• Daniel Jones aged 36.
• John Lloyd aged 19.
• Moses Lloyd aged 17.
• John Morgan aged 27.
• Thomas Morgan aged 28.
• William White aged 38.
• William Williams aged 20.

Some statistics:

• 1896: Manpower: 391.
• 1900: Manpower: 572.
• 1901: Manpower: 611.
• 1902: Manpower: 516.
• 1903: Manpower: 561.
• 1905: Manpower: 502.
• 1907: Manpower: 123.
• 1908: Manpower: 180.
• 1909: Manpower: 180.
• 1910: Manpower: 236.
• 1911: Manpower: 385.
• 1912: Manpower: 399.
• 1913: Manpower: 350.
• 1918: Manpower: 163.
• 1923: Manpower: 226.

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