Beynon Colliery

Overview

The last deep pit at Blaina, sunk in 1922-23 on the site of the old Pyle and Blaina works yard so that Lancaster's Steam Coal Collieries could reach the coal on the west side of the Ebbw Fach. It took over the workings of the Lower Deep and North Blaina pits as they closed in 1923, employed over 1,500 men in its first years and some 640 in the 1950s, and was shut by the National Coal Board in April 1975 after a fire broke out in old workings in the Lower Black Vein -- ending, in the Northern Mine Research Society's words, two hundred years of intensive coal mining at Blaina.

History

Three shafts were sunk at Blaina in the 1850s on the ground that Beynon's later occupied. In the early 1920s the Blaina collieries of John Lancaster and Company had not worked the coal west of the River Ebbw, and the company -- under its parent, the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company -- decided to concentrate the district on one new pit. Jenkyn Williams, mining engineer, put forward a scheme in 1920 for sinking on the site of the old Pyle and Blaina works yard, closing the Lower Deep, Henwaun and North Blaina collieries and winning their remaining coal through the new shaft. Demolition of the works began in November 1921, four chimneys and the old coke ovens coming down, and by April the site was cleared and the engine-house foundations laid; there was no ceremony of cutting the first sod. Sinking of the 20-foot shaft began on 25 April 1922 with a ten-ton crane and a temporary steam winder, because the electric winding engine was not ready. At 24 yards the sinkers broke into old workings in the Red Vein ironstone. The colliery opened in July 1923 -- officially on Friday the 13th, with coal handled through the screens from Monday the 16th, at a projected 1,500 tons a day. North Blaina closed on 30 July and the Lower Deep on 1 September 1923, their coal thereafter drawn through Beynon's; the Henwaun pit had already closed. The winding and downcast shaft was 130 yards deep with a 350 horsepower electric winder, and the Upper Deep pit, elliptical at 16 feet 9 inches by 10 feet 3 inches and 190 yards deep, served as the upcast. The pit opened into the slump. Manpower peaked at about 1,650 in 1925-26 and collapsed to 75 in 1928 in the aftermath of the 1926 lockout, recovering to 900 by 1932 and settling between 600 and 700 men for the next thirty years. Nationalisation in 1947 placed it in the National Coal Board's South Western Division, No. 6 (Monmouthshire) Area, Abertillery Group, listed together with the Lower Deep and North Blaina. An NCB report of 1950 found the Elled, Big, Three-Quarter and Old Coal seams exhausted, and a review in 1960 put reserves at a few hundred thousand tons in the Black Veins and Meadow Vein; closures round about eased matters by giving Beynon's access to their coal. In February 1963 an explosion of methane brought down the roof and trapped nine men, who were reached and guided out by a deputy, Thomas Davies of Abergavenny. The pit went on and off the closure list, made profits in the mid-1960s and lost money at the end of the decade.

Geology

Steam and house coals of the South Wales Coal Measures, worked in the Elled, Big, Three-Quarter, Old Coal, Top and Lower Black Vein, Meadow Vein and Garw seams; the sinkers passed through old Red Vein ironstone workings at 24 yards.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

A 20-foot diameter winding and downcast shaft 130 yards deep, wound by a 350 horsepower electric winder, with the older Upper Deep shaft -- elliptical, 16 feet 9 inches by 10 feet 3 inches and 190 yards deep -- as the upcast; when Beynon's closed, the Marine Colliery took over that duty. Cross-measure roadways from North Blaina and the Lower Deep brought those pits' coal to the new pit bottom.

Closure

A fire was found in a gob at an old face in the Lower Black Vein at about 10.30 pm at the start of the night shift on 2 April 1975. Production stopped at once and everyone was withdrawn; rescue teams sealed the face with sandbags. Within days the National Coal Board decided to shut the pit, the men were transferred to other collieries, and the colliery was abandoned with its equipment underground. It had lost money for eight years, over 720,000 pounds in its last year, with 276 men left and an output of 53,000 tons. Stocked coal was cleared through the summer and the last train left Beynon's on 15 September 1975.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Henwaun Colliery — Both Blaina pits of the Lancaster concern: the 1920 scheme for Beynon's provided for closing the Henwaun along with the Lower Deep and North Blaina and winning their remaining coal through the new shaft, and the Henwaun had already closed by the time Beynon's opened in 1923.
• Marine Colliery — When Beynon's Upper Deep upcast shaft was closed, the Marine Colliery provided the upcast ventilation shaft for its workings.

Nearby mines

• North Blaina Colliery — 0.2 km N
• Coalbrook Vale Colliery — 0.9 km NW
• Henwaun Colliery — 1.4 km SE
• Cinder Pit, Blaina — 2.1 km NW
• East Blaina Red Ash Colliery — 2.5 km NE

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

People

• Thomas Davies · rescuer, from 1963 — Deputy, of Abergavenny, who reached the nine men trapped by the February 1963 roof collapse and guided them out.
• Jenkyn Williams · engineer, from 1920 — Mining engineer who submitted the 1920 scheme for sinking Beynon's Colliery on the old Pyle and Blaina works yard.

What's uncertain

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

• The colliery opened in July 1923: Out Of The Blue Artifacts gives the official opening as Friday 13 July with coal first handled through the screens on Monday 16 July, while the Northern Mine Research Society gives 14 July as the start of production. (disputed) ^1,3
• In 1923 Beynon's, with the Lower Deep and North Blaina, employed about 1,427 men by the Welsh Coal Mines figure and 1,527 by the Northern Mine Research Society's, working the Big, Three Quarter, Black and Meadow Vein seams. (disputed) ^2,3

Recorded claims

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

• Sinking of the 20-foot shaft began on 25 April 1922 on the site of the old Pyle and Blaina works yard, to a scheme put forward in 1920 by the mining engineer Jenkyn Williams so that the company could reach the coal west of the River Ebbw. ^1,2
• The colliery opened in July 1923: Out Of The Blue Artifacts gives the official opening as Friday 13 July with coal first handled through the screens on Monday 16 July, while the Northern Mine Research Society gives 14 July as the start of production. (disputed) ^1,3
• North Blaina closed on 30 July 1923 and the Lower Deep on 1 September 1923, both being absorbed into Beynon's, which thereafter drew their coal. ^2,3
• In 1923 Beynon's, with the Lower Deep and North Blaina, employed about 1,427 men by the Welsh Coal Mines figure and 1,527 by the Northern Mine Research Society's, working the Big, Three Quarter, Black and Meadow Vein seams. (disputed) ^2,3
• In February 1963 an explosion of methane gas caused a roof collapse that trapped nine men; a deputy, Thomas Davies of Abergavenny, reached them and guided them out. ³
• The colliery was closed in April 1975 after a fire was discovered on 2 April in a gob at an old face in the Lower Black Vein; it had lost over 720,000 pounds in its final year, when 276 men raised 53,000 tons. ^2,3

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Beynons Colliery Blaina - A Brief History — Out Of The Blue Artifacts
2. (secondary) Beynon's Colliery, Blaina — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Beynon Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (Internet Archive)

Record created: 20 September 2026 · Last researched: 20 September 2026