Achddu Colliery

Overview

A Burry Port drift mine first opened in 1814, consolidated in 1903 and worked for the Gwscwm seam by William Watkeys Ltd, which employed 186 in 1910; it closed in 1917 and a brickworks later used its site.

History

Achddu Colliery was a drift mine in the Achddu area of Burry Port, lower down the Cwm Capel valley. John and Edward Hay from Pembrokeshire opened the first colliery at Achddu in 1814, and the Achddu workings were consolidated into one colliery in 1903.

The Achddu Colliery Company Limited worked it from 1902 to 1905, and it employed 49 in 1907, mainly in the Gwscwm seam, whose section was nine inches of coal, two of dirt and 22 of coal. By 1908 it belonged to William Watkeys Ltd of Llanelli, with J. Bonnell as manager and 76 men underground and sixteen at the surface; it employed 186 in 1910 and 156 in 1911. An internal tramroad served its two spoil tips, and the Cwm Capel branch of the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway skirted the site.

Davis, Evans and Company of Burry Port became the owners in 1915. The colliery was idle in 1918, still under J. Bonnell, and never worked again; the Gwscwm and Rhengog Fach workings were abandoned in 1917. Burry Port Brickworks opened on the site in the late 1920s, probably using shale from the colliery tip, and had closed by 1948.

Geology

The Gwscwm seam, nine inches of coal, two inches of dirt and 22 inches of coal, and the Rhengog Fach.

Workings

A drift mine with an internal tramroad serving two spoil tips, served by the Cwm Capel branch of the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway.

Closure

Abandoned in 1917 and listed as idle in 1918; it never worked again.

What remains

The site has been destroyed.

None recorded.

Redevelopment

Burry Port Brickworks was built on the site in the late 1920s, probably working shale from the colliery tip, and had closed by 1948.

Related mines

• New Lodge Colliery — A joint BGS abandonment plan, ACHIDDU / NEW LODGE, covers the Gwscwm workings of both collieries.

Recorded claims

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

• John and Edward Hay opened the first colliery at Achddu in 1814. ¹
• The Achddu Colliery Company Limited worked it from 1902 to 1905. ²
• William Watkeys Ltd owned the colliery in 1908 and 1911. ^2,3
• It employed 186 in 1910 and 156 in 1911. ²
• The Gwscwm and Rhengog Fach workings were abandoned in 1917. ^1,4
• The former drift mine had an internal tramroad serving two spoil tips; the site has been destroyed. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) The Tramway and Cwm Capel (Pembrey and Burry Port Heritage) — Pembrey and Burry Port Heritage
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Box colliery Llanelli (Achddu Colliery section) — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: John Williams (injured), Achddu, Burry Port, 27 October 1911 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: ACHDDU, Gwscwm & Rhenog Fach seams, abandoned 1917 — British Geological Survey
5. (secondary) Coflein: Achddu Colliery, Burry Port (NPRN 33374) — RCAHMW (Coflein)

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026