Bryngwyn Colliery

Overview

A colliery on the western edge of Bedwas, worked from the 1860s and repeatedly stopped by water until it was drowned out in 1893. Its pumping engine house of 1868, built for W. S. Cartwright of Newport, survives as a Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument.

History

Bryngwyn Colliery, on the west side of Bedwas, was worked from about 1863 by one account and from 1865 or 1866 by another. W. S. Cartwright of Newport had its engine house built in 1868, probably by Morgan Morgan of Bristol; the building's datestone, inscribed 'WSC 1868', is now at Oxford House, Risca. It is said to have held an inverted single-acting Cornish engine, which worked pump rods laid almost horizontally through its plinth and may also have hauled in the adjacent drifts.

The colliery suffered badly from water, with several stoppages and bad flooding in October 1891. On 8 June 1893 the men were told to bring their tools to bank because of the pressure of water since the stopping of the Cwm-y-glo, Energlyn and Rhos Llantwit collieries; the pumping engines were stopped at once, about 200 men were affected, and the colliery was abandoned that month. In April 1894 R. Thomas reopened Bryngwyn, whether the old pit or a new drift is not known, and worked it with no more than seven men, from the Maesmawr seam, until June 1903.

The engine house is the only part of the colliery left. It was listed at Grade II* on 8 February 1999 as an important survival of the coal industry, of interest for the unusual nature of its engine, and is a scheduled ancient monument.

Geology

The Maesmawr seam was worked in the 1890s.

Workings

Drifts, pumped and probably hauled by the engine in the 1868 engine house, whose pump rods ran almost horizontally into the workings.

Closure

Abandoned in June 1893 when its pumps were stopped, the closure of neighbouring collieries having left it to deal with their water; reopened on a small scale in 1894 and abandoned again in June 1903.

What remains

The ruined engine house, which partly collapsed in 1979, has lost its roof, north wall and part of its west wall; by 2003 it was hemmed in by a new housing estate on the west side of Bedwas.

A two-storey engine house of coursed rubble sandstone with grey brick facings and round-headed openings on a high plinth, keeping its cylinder bed and the arched openings for the pump and balance rods. No other remains of the colliery survive.

Redevelopment

New housing was built around the engine house between 1999 and 2003.

Related mines

• Energlyn Colliery — Bryngwyn was drowned out in June 1893 by water after Energlyn, Cwm-y-glo and Rhos Llantwit collieries stopped.

What's uncertain

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

• Bryngwyn Colliery was worked from about 1863. (uncertain) ¹
• The colliery started in 1865 or 1866. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Bryngwyn Colliery was worked from about 1863. (uncertain) ¹
• The colliery started in 1865 or 1866. (uncertain) ²
• The engine house was built for W. S. Cartwright of Newport in 1868 and is said to have held an inverted single-acting Cornish engine. ^2,3
• On 8 June 1893 the pumping engines were stopped because of water from the stopped Cwm-y-glo, Energlyn and Rhos Llantwit collieries, affecting about 200 men. ²
• It closed in 1903. ^2,1
• The engine house partly collapsed in 1979 and by 2003 was hemmed in by a new housing estate. ⁴
• The engine house was listed Grade II* on 8 February 1999 and is a scheduled ancient monument. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Coflein: Bryngwyn Colliery, Bedwas (NPRN 33552) — RCAHMW (Coflein)
2. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Bryngwyn Colliery, Bedwas — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) Bryngwyn Colliery Engine House, Bedwas (Grade II*, Cadw 21311) — British Listed Buildings (Cadw listing)
4. (secondary) Coflein: Bryngwyn Colliery Engine House, Bedwas (NPRN 85100) — RCAHMW (Coflein)

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