Brynkinalt Colliery

Overview

The most southerly colliery in the North Wales coalfield, sunk on the Brynkinalt estate at Chirk in the 1860s and working coal on both sides of the Welsh border eight hundred metres away. Bought in the 1880s by the former member of parliament William Young Craig, it grew to 1,675 men by 1923 and stayed at work through the strike of 1912 on the strength of relations between owner and men. Coal drawing stopped in 1928, after which its shaft ventilated Ifton Colliery across the border until both closed in November 1968.

History

Brynkinalt Colliery, also called Chirk Green Colliery, was developed during the 1860s by the Brynkinalt Coal Company on the estate of that name on the western edge of Chirk, the southernmost pit of the North Wales coalfield and only about eight hundred metres north of the border, so that its workings ran under both countries. During the 1880s it was bought by William Young Craig of Alsager, formerly member of parliament for North Staffordshire, and by 1896 the Lists of Mines record the owners as W. Y. Craig and Sons with 459 men in all, raising house and steam coal under the manager Morris Kyffin. The workforce grew steadily: 678 in 1908 under Thomas Yates, 941 in 1918, and 1,675 by 1923, when the company's registered office was at Brynkinalt Collieries, Chirk, its annual output was a quarter of a million tons of gas, household and steam coal, and Donald and Ernest Craig sat on the board. The colliery was working the Five Feet, Six Feet, Red Coal, Seven Feet, Diamond and Three Yard seams. Relations between the Craigs and their men were unusually good, and the pit stayed open through the national strike of 1912. The colliery was extended eastwards about 1912 and eventually joined underground to Ifton Colliery at St Martins, across the border in Shropshire. Coal working at Brynkinalt itself ceased in 1928, after which the shaft was kept as Ifton's ventilation shaft, and the returns that continue to show over a thousand men on the books into the 1940s belong to that combined operation. The colliery was formally closed by the National Coal Board in November 1968, when Ifton ceased, and the site was landscaped in the 1970s.

Geology

The colliery worked the southern tip of the Denbighshire coalfield, where the measures run south to the English border and continue beneath Shropshire; the 1923 return names the Five Feet, Six Feet, Red Coal, Seven Feet, Diamond and Three Yard seams, producing gas, house and steam coal. Its underground extension eastwards from about 1912 took it into the same ground as Ifton Colliery at St Martins, and the two were eventually connected.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Shaft working from the 1860s, extended eastwards about 1912 until the workings met those of Ifton Colliery. After coal drawing stopped in 1928 the No. 1 shaft was kept open as Ifton's ventilation shaft, a role it held for forty years.

Closure

Coal working ceased in 1928, after which Brynkinalt was maintained as the ventilation shaft for Ifton Colliery at St Martins, to which it had been connected underground. The National Coal Board closed it in November 1968 when Ifton ceased, and the site was landscaped in the 1970s.

What remains

Landscaped and largely erased. The Royal Commission records that the only structural remains above ground are a brick and concrete structure around No. 1 shaft and slight earthworks marking the site of the adjacent winding house; the ground was landscaped in the 1970s and the site has been disused since 1968.

A brick and concrete structure around No. 1 shaft and earthworks where the winding house stood.

Redevelopment

Landscaped in the 1970s.

Related mines

• Black Park Colliery — The two Chirk pits, a mile apart at the southern end of the North Wales coalfield, both ended as ventilation shafts for Ifton Colliery and both were finally closed when Ifton ceased in November 1968.
• Ifton Colliery — Connected underground after Brynkinalt was extended eastwards about 1912; when coal drawing at Brynkinalt ceased in 1928 its shaft became Ifton's ventilation shaft, and it was closed in November 1968 when Ifton ceased.

Nearby mines

• Black Park Colliery — 1.3 km N
• Ifton Colliery — 2.2 km E, Shropshire
• Hafod Colliery — 6.5 km N
• Wynnstay Colliery — 6.7 km N
• Bersham Colliery — 9.3 km N

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.

• The colliery was developed during the 1860s by the Brynkinalt Coal Co. Ltd, and is recorded as first opened about 1870 and extended eastwards about 1912. ^1,2
• During the 1880s William Young Craig of Alsager, formerly member of parliament for North Staffordshire, bought the colliery; by 1896 the Lists of Mines give the owners as W. Y. Craig and Sons. ^2,3
• The colliery employed 459 men in 1896, 678 in 1908, 941 in 1918 and 1,675 at its peak in 1923, falling to 1,238 in 1938 and 1,044 in 1945. ^1,2
• By 1923 the colliery was producing from the Five Feet, Six Feet, Red Coal, Seven Feet, Diamond and Three Yard seams, with an annual output of 250,000 tons of gas, household and steam coal from a registered office at Brynkinalt Collieries, Chirk. ^2,3
• The colliery remained open during the strike of 1912 because of the good relationship between the owners and the men. ²
• Coal working ceased in 1928, after which Brynkinalt was maintained as a ventilation shaft for Ifton Colliery, to which its workings had been connected; the National Coal Board closed it in November 1968 and the site was landscaped in the 1970s. ^1,2
• The only structural remains at ground level are a brick and concrete structure surrounding No. 1 shaft and slight earthworks indicating the site of the adjacent winding house. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Coflein NPRN 33431: Brynkinalt Colliery; Chirk Green Colliery, Chirk — Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
2. (secondary) Black Park Colliery and Brynkinalt Colliery, Chirk (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: W. Y. Craig and Sons Ltd. — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026