Brewhouse Colliery

Overview

A long-lived Dowlais-feeder level whose haulage rope, by the 1850s, ran 3,000 yards to pull up to 35 trams at a time. It worked successive seams for over sixty years before its final abandonment in 1924.

History

Brewhouse Colliery was worked to feed the Dowlais Ironworks with coal, clay and iron. As early as the 1850s it had a haulage rope 3,000 yards long, used to pull 30 to 35 trams at a time. Over the following decades it worked and abandoned a succession of seams: the Elled in 1859, the Upper Four-Feet in 1893, the Brass Vein in November 1901, the Lower Four-Feet in 1908 (and the top part of that same seam in 1917), the Six-Feet in 1914, and the Seven-Feet, Red and Nine-Feet seams all in 1917. The colliery itself was finally abandoned in May 1924. The Dowlais Ironworks it fed had been founded in 1759 and grew, under John Josiah Guest, into one of the largest ironworks in the world, running 18 blast furnaces and employing 7,300 people at its 1845 peak. Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds was formed from the works in 1899–1902, and the main Dowlais plant continued production until 1936.

Geology

Worked the Elled, Upper and Lower Four-Feet, Brass Vein, Six-Feet, Seven-Feet, Red and Nine-Feet seams of the South Wales Coalfield in succession, from 1859 to 1917.

Workings

A drift/level fed by a 3,000-yard haulage rope pulling 30–35 trams at a time, working the Elled, Upper and Lower Four-Feet, Brass Vein, Six-Feet, Seven-Feet, Red and Nine-Feet seams in succession.

Closure

Finally abandoned in May 1924, after more than sixty years supplying the Dowlais Ironworks.

What remains

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Albert Colliery — 0.9 km S
• Dowlais Ironworks — 1.0 km SE
• Rhydycar Colliery — 2.0 km S
• Cyfarthfa Ironworks — 2.1 km SW
• Fochriw Colliery — 3.8 km E, Caerphilly

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.

• By the 1850s the colliery had a haulage rope 3,000 yards long, used to pull 30 to 35 trams at a time. ¹
• Worked and abandoned a succession of seams over its life: the Elled (1859), Upper Four-Feet (1893), Brass Vein (November 1901), Lower Four-Feet (1908, upper part 1917), Six-Feet (1914), and the Seven-Feet, Red and Nine-Feet (all 1917). ¹
• The colliery was finally abandoned in May 1924. ¹
• Founded in 1759, the Dowlais Ironworks employed 7,300 people and ran 18 blast furnaces at its 1845 peak, becoming GKN in 1899–1902 and continuing production until 1936. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small collieries of the Dowlais Cwmbargoed & Penydarren areas — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Dowlais Ironworks — Wikipedia

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