Bryn-y-Garn Colliery

Location	Cae Deg Erw, Hirfynydd, south-east of Seven Sisters, Neath Port Talbot — 51.7564, -3.6842 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1976–27 April 1998
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Craig Clwyd Colliery Company (1976–1979), W. J. Fyfield (1979–1981), Double Range Ltd (1982–1993)

Overview

A small licensed mine high on Hirfynydd above Seven Sisters, opened in 1976 in the No. 2 Rhondda seam and last worked by the Fyfield family until 1998.

History

Bryn-y-Garn Colliery was at Cae Deg Erw, on the upper slopes of Hirfynydd mountain south-east of Seven Sisters in the Dulais Valley, working the No. 2 Rhondda seam. It was opened in 1976 by the Craig Clwyd Colliery Company, which held it until 1979; W. J. Fyfield owned it from 1979 to 1981 and Double Range Ltd from 1982 to 1993.

After four years on care and maintenance, a local newspaper reported in February 1996 that the mine might reopen, with plans to employ ten men, extend the take and produce about 6,000 tonnes a year for fifteen years. It was reopened in January 1997 with three men, two of them part-owners, Malcolm and William Fyfield, sons of W. J. Fyfield, and M. Fyfield owned it in 1997-98. The coal was hand got, and haulage was by an old lorry engine geared to a winch.

The No. 2 Rhondda workings were abandoned on 27 April 1998, and the site was afterwards opencast.

Geology

The No. 2 Rhondda seam.

Workings

A small hand-got working, its haulage driven by an old lorry engine geared to a winch.

Closure

On care and maintenance from about 1992; reopened in January 1997 and abandoned on 27 April 1998. The site was later opencast.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Nant Hir Colliery — 0.4 miles (0.7 km) NE
Elwyn Colliery — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) NE
Aberpergwm Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) SE
Hir Fynydd Colliery — 1.1 miles (1.8 km) SW
Brynteg Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.2 km) W

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (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.

Bryn-y-Garn was opened in 1976 by the Craig Clwyd Colliery Company. ¹
It worked the No. 2 Rhondda seam. ^1,2
It reopened in January 1997 with three men, two of them part-owners. ¹
Its haulage was worked by an old lorry engine geared to a winch. ¹
The No. 2 Rhondda workings were abandoned on 27 April 1998. ²

Photographs & further reading

Welsh Coal Mines: Other small mines (Bryn-y-Garn Colliery) (reference)

Owners, seams, working methods and closure of this small licensed mine.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Other small mines — Welsh Coal Mines
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: BRYN-Y-GARN, No. 2 Rhondda seam, abandoned 27 April 1998 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026