Blaentillery Colliery

Overview

Workings high on Coity Mountain above Blaenavon: a small level of 1899-1914, a National Coal Board drift opened in 1967 at a cost of £500,000 that failed within the year, and the licensed Blaentillery No. 2 drift, one of the last mines at Blaenavon, worked into the 2010s.

History

A small level called Blaentillery worked a seam high on the mountain above Blaenavon from 1899 to 1914, employing one man to raise coal for its own use in 1901-03, 14 in 1905 and 2 in 1910-12; its abandonment plan, in the Tillery or Red Ash seam, is dated 1914.

In January 1967 the National Coal Board spent £500,000 opening a new drift here, a thousand feet above sea level and 1,100 yards from Big Pit's baths, with 250 men from Big Pit. It was planned to open two coalfaces 100 yards long to work an estimated 1.3 million tons from 495 acres, and the Board's No. 6 (Monmouthshire) Area printed a booklet on the new mine. It was a failure: the abandonment plan of the Blaentillery Drift in the Brithdir seam is dated 15 September 1967.

A licensed Blaentillery mine was owned in 1988 by Blaentillery Mining Limited of West Yorkshire, and the No. 2 level by the Ffynonau Duon Colliery Company in 1987-96. Around 2002 Blaentillery Mining Limited had it again, and in March 2003 it qualified for a grant of £49,400 from the last payments of the Coal Operating Aid Scheme; the company was wound up in February 2005. When Big Pit closed in 1980, Blaentillery No. 2 Drift was one of the last working mines at Blaenavon. In July 2011 it was still at work, inside a huge modern shed hidden from the town by an earthen bank; by 2016 it was derelict, with two mine entrances and abandoned drams beside the building. Its abandonment plan is dated 2 June 2023.

Geology

The Brithdir seam of the Upper Coal Measures (also recorded as the Tillery or Red Ash), worked by drift from the hillside; the 1899-1914 level is recorded by NMRS in the Mynyddislwyn seam.

Workings

A small level (1899-1914); a National Coal Board drift of 1967 planned for two 100-yard faces; and the licensed No. 2 drift with two entrances inside a large shed.

Closure

The NCB drift was abandoned on 15 September 1967 as a failure. The No. 2 drift was working in July 2011 and derelict by 2016; Wikipedia gives its closure as 2010, and its abandonment plan is dated 2 June 2023.

What remains

Derelict by 2016: the shed roof and cladding were failing, with two mine entrances and abandoned dram bodies beside the building.

The No. 2 drift's shed, two drift entrances and dram bodies, screened from Blaenavon by an earthen bank.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Big Pit — The 1967 drift was opened with 250 men from Big Pit, 1,100 yards from Big Pit's baths.

What's uncertain

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

• Blaentillery No. 2 Drift Mine closed in 2010. (disputed) ⁷

Recorded claims

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

• A small level of this name worked from 1899 to 1914. ^1,2
• In January 1967 the NCB spent £500,000 opening a new drift with 250 men from Big Pit; it was a failure. ¹
• The Blaentillery Drift was abandoned on 15 September 1967. ³
• The NCB's No. 6 (Monmouthshire) Area issued a booklet on the Blaentillery New Drift Mine. ⁴
• In July 2011 Blaentillery No. 2 Drift was a working mine inside a large modern shed. ^5,6
• Blaentillery No. 2 Drift Mine closed in 2010. (disputed) ⁷
• By 2016 the No. 2 drift was derelict. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) NMRS: Blaentillery Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: BLAENTILLERY (Tillery (Red Ash), abandoned 1914) — British Geological Survey
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: BLAENTILLERY DRIFT (Brithdir, abandoned 15 September 1967) — British Geological Survey
4. (primary) Museum Wales: Blaentillery New Drift Mine (NCB booklet) — Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales
5. (secondary) Coflein: Blaentillery No 2 Drift (NPRN 414406) — Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
6. (observational) Geograph: Blaentillery No. 2 Drift Mine — Geograph Britain and Ireland
7. (secondary) Big Pit National Coal Museum — Wikipedia
8. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: BLAENTILLERY NO.2 MINE (Brithdir, abandoned 2 June 2023) — British Geological Survey

Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026