Home
Business Listing
Cwmtillery Colliery
Country Files
History
Local Info
Message Board
News
Photo Album
Places
St Paul's Church
Walks
Weather
Web Links
Your Voices
 Time gone by, but not forgotten - Cwmtillery Colliery & Red Ash Level...
In the first half of the 18th century, hundreds of coke burning furnaces were built in South Wales, also one of the largest ironworks being built at Blaenavon. Coal was needed in huge quantities because of the volume required to smelt iron (approx 3 tons of coal to produce 1 ton of iron). To cater for this demand the number of pits and small levels grew dramatically. The second half of the 18th century saw a decline in the iron industry, but by this time coal was required in other areas, and so, had little effect on the coal industry. In fact the coal boom continued as new market areas developed in the form of steam locomotives, industry and housing. Vast supply of coal and high quality "steam" coal and the anthracite deposits were highly valued for domestic heating and industrial purposes.
The size and importance of the South Wales coalfield cannot be underestimated. In 1913, nearly 58 million tons of coal came up from the mines and South Wales produced one third of the world's coal exports. At its peak over 250, 000 men were employed in the coal industry of South Wales.

Cwmtillery Colliery 1980

 

Cwmtillery Colliery:- Opened in 1850 by the South Wales Colliery Company, later owned by Lancaster Spier and Company, Lancasters Steam Coal Collieries Limited and, from 1947, by the National Coal Board, following nationalisation.
In 1960 Cwmtillery would be merged with Rose Heyworth and renamed Abertillery New Mine, the Cwmtillery section was closed in 1982.

 

Managers of Cwmtillery Colliery

D Lewis - 1896...J.T.Williams -1908,(could be T.J)?...A.E.Hiscox - 1930's...Mr Hall - Early 1940s (with Mr Jones Assistant to).
J.R.Jones - 1940's...Mr. R Watkins - Late 1940's early 1950's...J.Pocock - 1950's...L.Jarman - early 1960's...A.E.Huxley - late 1960's, early 1970's...H.V.Edwards - mid 1970's...R.M.Young - late 1970's, early1980's...Glyn Moss - Cwmtillery/Rose hey worth early 1980's / 1985.

Glossary of Terms Used in the Mining Industry...Click here

Opened in 1842 on the site of a farm called Tir Nicholas by Thomas Brown of Blaina Iron works. He had succeeded in finding, at a depth of 130yds, the Elled seam of coal. This seam was of unusual thickness (5 feet thick) and superior in quality. This would mark the start of providing a thriving mining industry for nearly 140 years and, with two shafts sunk in 1850, the colliery and the valley came to life. Soon after a water feeder system would be a requirement to support the colliery and this would take the form of the lower lake which was constructed in approx 1851. In 1852 the colliery was taken over by a Risca coal master, John Russell, and by 1853 he was shipping 350 tons of coal from the valley every month. Unfortunately all this, would come at a price, and at 7.00am on the 29th May 1857 an Underground Explosion took the lives of 12 people, the youngest being 13 years old boy. Production continued at a vast rate and in 1858, with this increased production, a further shaft to a depth of 785 feet was sunk.
.In 1864 the South Wales Colliery Co. was formed to take over the Tir Nicholas workings and, by the end of the year it had a capital of approx £200,000 and had acquired over 1,500 acres of Freehold and Leasehold land. In 1888 it would lease the working colliery to Lancaster, Spier & Co and later the Lancasters Steam Coal Collieries Limited.

Local Paper reports Winding Accident in 1908

At the peak of the mining industry around the Abertillery - Cwmtillery area a total of six pits operated.
Cwmtillery opened 1842...Pen-y-bont opened 1851...Rose Heyworth opened 1872...Gray opened 1885...Vivian opened 1889
Six Bells opened 1890.....All these six pits operated within a two mile radius of Abertillery.

At the end of every shift Gwern Berthi road would come alive with miners making their way home, faces blackened from the coal dust and showing that there was no luxury of Pithead baths, not in those days. Seen carrying their allowance of one block of fire wood per day, it would be home to a hot tub in front of the fire.
Miners spent all their shift filling drams brought to them by horses. They had to be filled with clean coal. If any dirty coal was found in your dram it would end in either a fine or a day cleaning on pit top.
The winter of 1932/3 saw a six-month stoppage at the pit, and throughout the thirties "stop days" were recorded in the register at St Paul's church. There was no work, or only intermittent days of work, from Sept to Dec 1933, from Feb to April 1936 and from June to Dec of 1938. The pit hooter would not only be used to mark the start and the end of the shift but a new code was introduced, if there were "three" blasts at 4 PM it meant "no work tomorrow".
Once the coal arrived at the surface it was moved out of the valley by horse and tram, followed later by steam locomotive with the rail lines running south in the centre of the valley and linking up with the Abertillery main line. In 1930 the loco "Cwmtillery" was used and by 1956 the loco "Caradog". Each loco spent each day filling the valley with steam and the clatter of metal wheels on metal rails, as it pulled empty trucks up the valley, only to return later with the trucks full of coal from underground. Coal used locally would be purchased, sold on and delivered by coal merchants. A slide system enable coal transfer from drams to lorries. What about the waste? An overhead bucket system ran from the collieries to the top of the mountain side where tons and tons of coal waste over-shadowed the valley.
At the colliery surface new and old equipment could be seen rusting, pit props stacked 10 feet high, coal trams in siding and the sparks from the machine shop could be seen.
Stables which could house up to 100 ponies were located on pit bottom. The ponies would work 50 weeks per year 7 days a week and spend only 2 weeks resting in the fields above the lakes.

 

 

 

 

 

Some Statistics

Weekly wage approved by Parliament 1887

Overman......50.0 Shillings......66 Hours - Deputy Overman......35.0 Shillings......66 Hours - Hewers......22.0 Shillings......45 Hours
Tunnellers......21.0 Shillings......48 Hours - Master shifters......22.0 Shillings......48 Hours - Shifters......19.0 Shillings......48 Hours
Wastemen......22.0 Shillings......48 Hours - Banksmen......19.0 Shillings......54 Hours - Helpers up......22.0 Shillings......48 Hours. Drivers......16.0 Shillings......48 Hours - Switch keepers......13.6 Shillings......54 Hours - Cartmen......20.0 Shillings......48 Hours
Joiners......27.0 Shillings......54 Hours - Enginemen......30.0 Shillings......77 Hours - Firemen......17.0 Shillings......77 Hours
Plateplayers......17.0 Shillings......54 Hours - Smiths......24.0 Shillings......54 Hours - Horse Keepers......21.0 Shillings......58 Hours.

In 1910 the wage for cutting large coal per ton was 1 shilling and 6 pence.

Daily wage in 1949
Age 15 underground  9 shillings 11 pence - surface working 8 shilling 3 pence
Age 16 underground 10 shillings 10 pence - surface working 9 shilling 2 pence
Age 17 underground 12 shillings 00 pence - surface working 10 shilling 00 pence
Age 18 underground 15 shillings 2 pence - surface working 12 shilling 10 pence
Age 19 underground 16 shillings 4 pence - surface working 13 shilling 00 pence
Age 20 underground 17 shillings 6 pence - surface working 15 shilling 00 pence

1956 a 3 million scheme involved the driving of a new 1096 metre drift mine , to integrate the two collieries (Cwmtillery and Rose Heyworth) and streamline coal handling. After the closure of the Pen-y-Bont and Gray collieries and with the removal of the rail line in the valley, the fate of Cwmtillery seemed to be written. In 1960 the Cwmtillery colliery was merged with Rose Heyworth and renamed "Abertillery New Mine".

1977 saw huge investments being made and, as a result, the longest and most advanced man-riding system was installed, its length some 3000 metres. This new seven carriage manrider could carry men into the coalface in 12 minutes compared with a previous 40 minutes on foot, but not even this prevented the closure of the colliery some five years later.

In 1982 came the end of the Cwmtillery Colliery era, with exhausted coal reserves it was time to close down and move any resources to the adjoining Rose Heyworth section. The colliery remained manned with only two people maintaining the ventilation system for the adjoining Rose Heyworth. In December 1985 and, with Rose Heyworth closed, Cwmtillery Colliery came to a complete stop. It left behind 26 miles of underground tunnels and roadways, machinery uneconomical to recover and, for the miners that used to work there, all they had left were memories.

Coal Seams worked at Cwmtillery

Name of Seam Seam Thickness Depth Underground
Elled 1.26 metres 200.55 metres
Big Vein 1.80 metres 204.21 metres
Threequarter 1.96metres 213.36 metres
Top Black Vein 1.80metres 231.64 metres
Lower Black Vein. 1.80metres 237.74 metres
Meadow Vein 1.08metres 256.03 metres
Old Coal 1.80metres 274.34 metres
Garw Seam 0.90metres 298.70 metres

Garw seam :- Spans a total length of 6000 metres under ground. From the Cwmtillery shafts the seam was excavated 2500 metres north, extending passed the Reservoir, Nuns wood and reaching the furthest extent of the valleys border line. A section under the Reservoir remains intact, so as avoiding any chance of subsidence.
Looking down the valley from shaft the seam extends 3500 metres passing both the "Tillery" and "Gary" collieries as it heads and terminates on the east side of Abertillery town.

Garw seam plan Also includes a popup image showing the area underground of the Garw Seam worked at Cwmtillery

Now the only thing left to do would be the reclaiming of the land. Buildings would be demolished and areas filled and grassed. Artifacts would be save and an account of the colliery history preserved, so that it would never be forgotten. Below are present day (2001) photos taken around the area of the colliery site.

Pit wheel Monument

 

 Site of the long gone Cwmtillery Colliery

Quote.

"The Colliery was closed 1982 and this marked the end of an era. Almost every family in Cwmtillery had some link with it, as son, father and grandfather had worked at the pit at some time over the years.
The colliery was part of the community. Once you had worked there you were a friend of everybody. The most important thing in the closure of the colliery is the loss to the community of the friendship it created over the years.
It's like parting with one of the family."

Cwmtillery Red Ash Level

Operated by the Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery Company, it burrowed into the side of the Mynydd James mountainside in search for coal. In 1896 it employed 53 underground workers, 7 surface workers and the manager was Mr D Lewis. By 1947 it employed 100 underground with 14 surface workers.
It was located at the top of what is now called the concrete road and looked down onto the lower lake. Approx 50yds further up, on the left, is the ventilation shaft for the level (both entrances are still visible today). Alongside the entrance to the level stood the engine house, which housed the large engine and winch system which was used to haul the drams up and down the rail track. The rail track ran from the level down the mountain side over a bridge spanning Ty Dan y Wal Road and terminated at the Cwmtillery colliery. Here the coal would be dealt with before being shipped down the valley by steam loco.
Ponies were used to haul the drams in and out of the level, and at the end of the shift both ponies and workers could be seen running down the hill. Pay day would see men and ponies lined up at the pay office ( the long-gone office building was located in front of Robert Row) waiting for for their pay packet. The stables for the ponies were located on the site of the now pit wheel monument at the rear entrance to the Cwmtillery Colliery. When the level closed the stables were no longer required and, after a few years, part would be demolished and part would be used as garages for the pit mangers that occupied Lake Villas. Not sure when the level closed but there was activity at the level during the late 40s and early 50s. It could have still been operating then or just salvaging equipment.


Other local levels:- "Blaentillery" owned by Lewis Lewis, Blaentillery Farm, Cwmtillery. (2 workers in 1908)...Rhiw Park... Greenmeadow...Tillery colliery(level)...Pullingers above valley view...The Gwastod levels...Gwyrryd level...Browns level...Blaentillery drift 1+2...Llanarch padarn(red ash)...Coedcae tillery(above arrail view) and 2 on old blaina road. information supplied by Ron Everley.

 

If you have any Historical information on any of the industries below, please send it in as it would be gratefully received.

Pen-y-bont brickworks taken in the early 1900's

Photo sent in by Val Lord

Pen-y-bont :- opened in 1851

Photo sent in by Brian Harvey

Gray :- Opened in 1885 by Powell's Tillery Steam Coal Company Centre and closed in 1938, although it continued to be be used as a training centre in the 1940's
1896 Manager T J Lamb workers 365 underground 49 surface.