Blaenau Saron Colliery

Overview

A small anthracite level at Llandybie in the Amman Valley, first recorded through the death of a collier in 1879 and still working on a small scale into 1913.

History

Nothing is recorded of this level before 7 May 1879, when a 23-year-old collier named Thomas Davies was killed at "the Blaynea mine, Llandebie", run over by trams while riding a full tub journey on an underground incline. The Northern Mine Research Society, which preserves the only detailed account of the mine, considers it probably the same working as the much larger Saron Colliery a short distance away, though the two are treated as separate sites in later mine surveys.

By 1912 Blaenau Saron employed only two men. The following year it was worked by the Cambrian Anthracite Limited, which raised the workforce to 14, under the same manager, Thomas Mayberry, who also ran the separate Blaenau Colliery nearby. The mine appears on no later record.

Workings

A small mine; two men employed by 1912, growing to fourteen under the Cambrian Anthracite Limited from 1913.

Related mines

• Saron Colliery — Saron was opened in 1915 on the site of the old Blaenau colliery; the NMRS thinks the two probably the same working.

What's uncertain

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

• Welsh Coal Mines' fatalities register independently records the same death — Thomas Davies, 23, collier, killed on 7 May 1879 by falling under trams on an underground incline at Llandybie — but attributes it to "Glynea Colliery" rather than Blaenau Saron; the identical name, age, date, cause and village make it very likely the same event under a differently recorded colliery name. (disputed) ^1,2
• A Mining Remediation Authority plan groups Saron, Park Level, Old Blaenau, Lletty Gwyn and other Llandybie workings in the Nine Feet and Gellideg anthracite seams; 'Old Blaenau' may be this level, but the plan does not say so. (uncertain) ³

Recorded claims

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

• On 7 May 1879 a 23-year-old collier, Thomas Davies, was killed at "the Blaynea mine, Llandebie", run over by trams while riding a full tub journey on an underground incline. ¹
• Welsh Coal Mines' fatalities register independently records the same death — Thomas Davies, 23, collier, killed on 7 May 1879 by falling under trams on an underground incline at Llandybie — but attributes it to "Glynea Colliery" rather than Blaenau Saron; the identical name, age, date, cause and village make it very likely the same event under a differently recorded colliery name. (disputed) ^1,2
• In 1913 the mine was worked by the Cambrian Anthracite Limited, employing 14 men under manager Thomas Mayberry, who also managed the separate Blaenau Colliery. ¹
• A Mining Remediation Authority plan groups Saron, Park Level, Old Blaenau, Lletty Gwyn and other Llandybie workings in the Nine Feet and Gellideg anthracite seams; 'Old Blaenau' may be this level, but the plan does not say so. (uncertain) ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Amman Valley — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Welsh coal mine fatalities, 1879 — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans catalogue: Saron, Park Level, Old Blaenau, Lletty Gwyn, Rock, Rock Slant, Old Stanllyd Drift — British Geological Survey
4. (secondary) Blaenau Saron Colliery — Buddlepit Mine Database

Record created: 15 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026