Aberbaiden Colliery

Overview

Baldwins' slant mine north of Kenfig Hill, opened out in 1906 with the Pentre Slant of 1908 to work prime coking coal from the Rock Fawr seam, and closed by the Coal Board in February 1959.

History

Aberbaiden Colliery was a slant mine north of Kenfig Hill, in the community of Margam. A small slant was working here by 1900, with 36 men, under Wright, Butler and Co. In 1906 Baldwins Ltd developed the site, driving the Aberbaiden Slant 1,500 metres into the hill, and in 1908 added the Pentre Slant, driven 1,900 metres; together they worked an area of five and a half square miles.

Both worked the No. 3 Rhondda seam, here called the Rock Fawr: two feet of coal, a foot of dirt and two feet of coal, classed as prime coking coal for foundries and blast furnaces. Employment grew from 295 in 1908 to 940 at the two slants in 1918 and about 1,200 by 1923. Baldwins later became Richard Thomas and Baldwins, the steelmakers. In 1943 Aberbaiden employed 441 underground in the Rock Fawr and Hafod seams and 174 on the surface, under the manager I. Thomas. On 10 November 1944 an explosion in the Pentre Slant killed four men (see Disasters, below).

At nationalisation in 1947 the two slants employed 1,157, and the colliery raised 250,000 tons. By 1955 600 men worked there, 270 of them at the face, and by closure 457. The National Coal Board closed Aberbaiden on 2 February 1959 as uneconomic; the National Union of Mineworkers told the worried local authority that it had to accept that closures must take place.

Geology

South Wales Coal Measures. The slants worked the No. 3 Rhondda seam, known here as the Rock Fawr, two feet of coal, twelve inches of dirt and two feet of coal, a prime coking coal; the Hafod seam was also worked by 1943.

Workings

Two slants driven into the hillside: the Aberbaiden Slant, 1,500 metres long, and the Pentre Slant of 1908, 1,900 metres long, at SS 841 854, together working about five and a half square miles. The Rock Fawr workings were abandoned on 30 January 1959 and the Hafod on 30 July 1959.

Closure

The National Coal Board closed the colliery on 2 February 1959 on uneconomic grounds, with 457 men employed, 190 of them at the face. Before closure the South Wales Area of the NUM studied the men's prospects of work at neighbouring pits.

What remains

Little remains of the colliery, and much of the area is forested.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Elba Colliery — Both owned by Wright, Butler and Co. and then Baldwins Ltd.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• In 1923 the colliery employed 1,268, 1,076 of them below ground. (uncertain) ³
• Aberbaiden, Tytalwyn and Pentre slants closed in January 1959. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• The mine was sunk in 1906 by Baldwins Ltd on the site of an older slant; the Aberbaiden Slant was driven 1,500 metres and the Pentre Slant, of 1908, 1,900 metres. ^1,2
• It worked the No. 3 Rhondda (Rock Fawr) seam, coal 24 inches, dirt 12 inches, coal 24 inches, classed as prime coking coal. ^1,2
• In 1923 Aberbaiden and Pentre slants employed 1,182 men. ²
• In 1923 the colliery employed 1,268, 1,076 of them below ground. (uncertain) ³
• The owners were Wright, Butler and Co. Ltd, Baldwins Ltd and Richard Thomas and Baldwins Ltd, and from 1947 the National Coal Board. ^3,1
• In 1947 the colliery produced 250,000 tons and employed 1,152. ³
• Aberbaiden Colliery was closed by the NCB on 2 February 1959 on uneconomic grounds, with 457 men employed. ¹
• Aberbaiden, Tytalwyn and Pentre slants closed in January 1959. (uncertain) ²
• Plans of the No. 3 Rhondda (Rock Fawr) seam at Aberbaiden and Pentre record its abandonment on 30 January 1959. ⁴
• Little now remains of Aberbaiden Colliery; much of the area is forested. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Aberbaiden Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Aberbaiden colliery - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) Durham Mining Museum - Aberbaiden Colliery (UK) — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) BGS mine plans: Aberbaiden, Pentre (No. 3 Rhondda / Rock Fawr, abandoned 30 Jan 1959) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
5. (primary) Aberbaiden Colliery, NPRN 419722 - Coflein — RCAHMW (Coflein)

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