Lady Lewis Colliery

Near Ynishir, Rhondda Fach Valley (02559233)

This mine was opened in 1904 by the Lewis Merthyr Company and by 1908 it employed 761 men underground and 123 on the surface, the manager was D.L. Bowen. It was linked to the Hafod Pit which was approximately one mile away. This company was a member of the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners Association.

The 20 feet diameter shaft was sunk to the Gellideg seam which it found at a depth of 1,426 feet 6 inches. It was equipped to raise 1,800 tons of coal in a nine hour shift. It was planned to produce 400,000 to 500,000 tons of coal per annum. It mainly worked the Red Vein and Nine-Feet seams, there was only 24” between these two seams and they were worked as one at Lady Lewis. The lower seam, the Nine-Feet would be undercut and removed first and the Red Vein would then be worked.

Generally, this colliery’s coals were classed as types 203/204. Type 203 was weak to medium caking, and type 204 was medium to strong caking. The main uses for these coals were for foundry and blast furnace cokes and for steam raising.

This Colliery employed 132 men in 1905, 484 men working underground and 113 men working at the surface in 1907 when managed by D.L. Bowen and 1,228 men and was managed by J. Ritson in 1913, 1,039 men underground and 122 men on the surface in 1918 when managed by J.F. Gregory and 750 men when it was managed by J.F. Gregory in 1919. There were 1,039 South Wales Miners Federation members working there in 1920. In 1923 it employed 1,131 men. It abandoned the Four-Feet seam in April 1925.

On Nationalisation in 1947 it had ceased to be a production unit and it was used for ventilation purposes only until 1950.

Some statistics:

• 1903: Manpower: 107
• 1909: Manpower: 886
• 1910: Manpower: 1,105
• 1911: Manpower: 1,025
• 1923: Manpower: 1,265
• 1924: Manpower: 1,277
• 1925: Manpower: 750

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