Treherbert Band

A South Wales brass band set up by the miners of Glenrhondda Colliery, which grew from a Treherbert drum and fife band of about 1897, performed for decades as the Glenrhondda Colliery Silver Band among other names, and has carried on since the pit's 1966 closure.

The mining history in this record

The band traces its origins to around 1897, when it began as the Treherbert Drum and Fife Band. It developed into a full brass band set up by, and closely tied to, the workforce of Glenrhondda Colliery in Blaencwm, which opened in 1911, and performed for decades under names including Glenrhondda Colliery Silver Band and Glenrhondda Silver. Through its long history the band has also been known as the Treherbert & District Silver Band, Treherbert & District Workmen's Band, Treherbert United National, Upper Rhondda Band and several other variants -- a reflection of how closely a colliery band's identity could shift with its sponsoring institutions and its own reorganisations. Glenrhondda Colliery closed in 1966, but the band continued independently, competing successfully at the National Eisteddfod, the Mineworkers Open and the National Championships of Great Britain. During the 1990s, under the baton of Graham Shepherd, the band was promoted from the Fourth Section all the way to the elite Championship Section, and went on to become Welsh League Champions in 2002 and Welsh Regional Champions in 2003, adding further National Eisteddfod titles through 2012.

People

Graham Shepherd, musical director during the band's 1990s rise through the sections.

Legacy today

Since 2012 the band has stepped back from national competition to work as a non-competitive symphonic ensemble, now known as Treherbert & District Band, focusing on community performances and youth music education in the upper Rhondda -- outliving, by many decades, the colliery whose miners founded it.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The band was set up by the miners of Glenrhondda Colliery and performed for decades under the name Glenrhondda Colliery Silver Band, among other variants, before the colliery's 1966 closure. (documented fact) ¹
• The band has also been recorded as the Glenrhondda Colliery Silver Band, Glenrhondda Silver, Treherbert & District Silver Band, Treherbert & District Workmen's Band and Treherbert United National. (documented fact) ²
• The band's forerunner is believed to have been the Treherbert Drum and Fife Band of about 1897. (later recollection, uncertain) ¹
• Glenrhondda Colliery was opened in 1911 by Glenavon Garw Collieries Limited and closed by the National Coal Board in 1966; the band then became the Upper Rhondda Band. (documented fact) ¹
• Under Graham Shepherd in the 1990s the band rose from the Fourth Section to the Championship Section, and it was Welsh League Champion in 2002 and Welsh Regional Champion in 2003. (documented fact) ¹
• Since 2012 the band has not competed, working as a non-competitive ensemble and training young players. (documented fact) ¹

Mines

• Glenrhondda Colliery — Rhondda Cynon Taf
  The band was founded by and named after this colliery's own workforce, performing as the Glenrhondda Colliery Silver Band for decades before the pit's 1966 closure.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Colliery

Sources

1. (secondary) History - Treherbert Band — Treherbert Band
2. (secondary) Treherbert & District Band — Brass Band Results

Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026