Albert Colliery

Overview

A small Penydarren level that supplied coal and iron ore to the Penydarren Ironworks — the works where, in 1804, Richard Trevithick ran the world's first railway steam locomotive.

History

Albert Colliery was a small level initially worked to provide both coal and iron ore for the Penydarren Iron Works, employing three men in 1901. The ironworks it fed had been founded in 1784 by Francis Homfray, his sons and a London financier named Forman; by 1796, with a second furnace built, Penydarren was outproducing even the larger Dowlais works, turning out 4,100 tons of iron that year against Dowlais's 2,100. It became the smallest of the four Merthyr ironworks in the long run, but its place in history was secured on 21 February 1804, when Richard Trevithick's pioneering steam locomotive hauled ten tons of iron and about seventy riders along the works' tramroad to the Glamorganshire Canal at Abercynon, over nine miles away — following a wager between the works' proprietor, Samuel Homfray, and Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa. The Penydarren works were hampered by the mineral rights beneath them already having been leased elsewhere, and by competition from the larger neighbouring works; they closed in 1858. Albert Colliery is not recorded with a closure date.

Geology

Unknown — no specific seam is named in the source read for this pass.

Workings

A small level worked for both coal and iron ore.

Closure

Unknown; the ironworks it fed closed in 1858.

What remains

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Dowlais Ironworks — 0.5 km E
• Brewhouse Colliery — 0.9 km N
• Rhydycar Colliery — 1.4 km SW
• Cyfarthfa Ironworks — 1.9 km W
• Ffos-y-Fran — 3.3 km S

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• A small level worked to supply the Penydarren Iron Works with coal and iron ore, employing three men in 1901. ¹
• Founded in 1784 by Francis Homfray, his sons and the financier Forman; by 1796, with a second furnace, it was outproducing Dowlais (4,100 tons against 2,100 in that year). ²
• On 21 February 1804, Richard Trevithick's steam locomotive hauled ten tons of iron and about seventy men over nine miles of the works' tramroad, following a 1,000-guinea wager between proprietor Samuel Homfray and Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa. ^2,3
• The Penydarren works closed in 1858, hampered by mineral rights already leased elsewhere and by competition from larger neighbouring works. ^1,3

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small collieries of the Dowlais Cwmbargoed & Penydarren areas — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Plymouth Ironworks (The Melting Pot) — The Melting Pot — Merthyr Tydfil's History and Culture
3. (secondary) Penydarren Ironworks — Wikipedia

Record created: 15 September 2026 · Last researched: 15 September 2026