Abergwawr Colliery

Overview

A Thomas Powell pit at Aberaman in the Cynon valley, sunk in the 1840s or 1854, later a Powell Duffryn colliery, which closed in 1886 and became an upcast and pumping shaft for Aberaman Colliery.

History

Abergwawr was sunk at Aberaman by Thomas Powell, of the Gaer, near Newport, whose Cynon valley pits became part of Powell Duffryn. NMRS dates the sinking to the 1840s; Welsh Coal Mines gives 1854, on a lease from Crawshay Bailey of 65 acres of the Upper Four Feet seam under the Aberaman estate, and calls it also the Plough Pit, though NMRS lists the Plough Pit separately among Powell's pits. In 1863 it raised 90,497 tons with 332 men.

The Powell Duffryn Company took over its running in 1864. Ownership was then disputed until 1870, when the Powell brothers took charge, and Powell Duffryn acquired it again in 1873. A boiler explosion on the surface in 1869 killed four men (see Disasters, below). Boys of thirteen and ten died in roof falls there in 1866 and 1875.

It stopped in the trade slump of 1875; before work resumed in June that year the men inspected it and reported the shafts, roads and machinery in good order and almost free of gas. It closed as a coal-drawing pit in 1886, and its shaft became an upcast for Aberaman Colliery; in 1900 it was serving as a pumping station and ventilating Aberaman and Treaman, its coal worked through Aberaman.

Geology

South Wales coalfield, Cynon valley: the Upper Four Feet seam; the Lower Six Feet appears on a combined abandonment plan.

Workings

A shaft colliery; after 1886 its shaft was the upcast and pumping shaft for Aberaman Colliery.

Closure

Closed in 1886; the shaft was kept as an upcast for Aberaman and, by 1900, as a pumping station.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Aberaman Colliery — Abergwawr's shaft became an upcast and pumping shaft for Aberaman after 1886, and its coal was worked through Aberaman.

Disasters & major incidents

• Abergwawr Colliery boiler explosion, 1869
  31 May 1869 · Machinery · 4 fatalities
  A boiler burst at the surface of Powell Duffryn's Abergwawr or Plough pit, beside Treaman station, on 31 May 1869, killing four men and injuring four.

What's uncertain

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

• Sunk in the 1840s by Thomas Powell. (disputed) ¹
• Sunk in 1854 by Thomas Powell on a lease of 65 acres of the Upper Four Feet from Crawshay Bailey. (disputed) ²
• Also known as the Plough Pit. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Sunk in the 1840s by Thomas Powell. (disputed) ¹
• Sunk in 1854 by Thomas Powell on a lease of 65 acres of the Upper Four Feet from Crawshay Bailey. (disputed) ²
• Produced 90,497 tons in 1863 with 332 men. ¹
• Powell Duffryn took over its running in 1864 and acquired it again in 1873. ²
• Closed in 1886; its shaft became an upcast for Aberaman Colliery. ²
• In 1900 it was a pumping station ventilating the Aberaman and Treaman pits. ¹
• Also known as the Plough Pit. (uncertain) ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Abergwawr Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Abergwawr Colliery, Aberaman — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) BGS mine plans: Aberdare / Mountain / ... / Abergwawr / ... / Aberaman / Dyllas Drift, Lower Six Feet — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 7 October 2026 · Last researched: 7 October 2026