Bute Colliery

Overview

The Marquess of Bute's pit at Cwmsaerbren, Treherbert, the first steam-coal colliery in the Rhondda, which sent the valley's first steam coal to Cardiff in 1855.

History

In 1849 the second Marquess of Bute bought the farm of Cwmsaerbren at the head of the Rhondda Fawr from William Davies for £12,000, after an offer of £9,000 had been refused, and later renamed the place Treherbert. W. S. Clarke began a trial shaft for him on 16 October 1851 and struck the Upper Four Feet seam at 125 yards. A second shaft, the upcast, was sunk between 1853 and 1855. Equipment had to come by horse and cart from the Taff Vale Railway's terminus at Dinas.

Known as Bute Merthyr, this was the first steam-coal colliery in the Rhondda, and on 21 December 1855 it sent the first consignment of Rhondda steam coal to Cardiff docks. Four colliers were killed by an explosion of gas in 1865, and a father and son in 1872 when a full dram was shunted down the shaft onto their cage.

Work was suspended in 1896, when only seven men were employed. Burnyeat, Brown and Co. Ltd held it in 1908, with 244 men, though the Marquis of Bute is named as owner in 1913. It later passed to United National Collieries Ltd, which in 1918 employed 801 men at Bute, Lady Margaret and the Gorllwyn Level; in 1923 Bute had 200 men in the Seven Feet seam. Its closure is usually given as 1926, but men were still at work in the Bute Merthyr pit in 1930-32, two repairers were killed there by runaway drams in December 1936, and a plan records the abandonment of the Bute Merthyr and neighbouring workings in 1940.

Geology

Coal Measures of the South Wales Coalfield, in the steam-coal series. The first shaft struck the Upper Four Feet at 125 yards; in 1923 the colliery worked the Seven Feet seam, and the later plans cover the Five Feet and Seven Feet (Bute) seams.

Workings

Two shafts at Cwmsaerbren: the first, begun in 1851, reached the Upper Four Feet at 125 yards; the second, the upcast, was sunk in 1853-55. Later worked with Lady Margaret and the Gorllwyn Level by United National Collieries.

Closure

Usually said to have closed in 1926, but it was still being worked by United National Collieries in 1930-32, two men were killed there in December 1936, and an abandonment plan of the Bute Merthyr and neighbouring workings is dated 14 July 1940.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Lady Margaret Colliery — United National Collieries worked Bute, Lady Margaret and the Gorllwyn Level together (801 men in 1918), and one abandonment plan covers both.

Disasters & major incidents

• Bute Colliery explosion, 1865
  17 February 1865 · Explosion · 4 fatalities
  An explosion of firedamp at the Bute Merthyr Colliery, Treherbert, the Rhondda's first steam-coal pit, killed four colliers on 17 February 1865.
• Bute Colliery shaft accident, 1872
  January 1872 · Winding / Shaft Accident · 2 fatalities
  A father and son coming up the Bute Colliery shaft at Treherbert in January 1872 were killed when a full tram ran into the shaft and broke their cage loose.

What's uncertain

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

• Bute colliery closed in 1926. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• The Marquess of Bute bought Cwmsaerbren farm from William Davies in 1849 for £12,000. ^1,2
• W. S. Clarke began the trial shaft in 1851; the first seam was struck at 125 yards. ^1,2
• A second shaft was sunk by 1855, when the first coal was produced. ^1,2
• The first steam-coal colliery in the Rhondda, it sent the first consignment of Rhondda steam coal to Cardiff docks on 21 December 1855. ^1,2
• Equipment was carried by horse and cart from the Taff Vale Railway's terminus at Dinas. ²
• In 1908 it was owned by Burnyeat, Brown and Co. Ltd. and employed 244 men. ¹
• The Marquis of Bute is recorded as owner of Bute Merthyr in 1913. ³
• Bute colliery closed in 1926. (disputed) ^1,2
• Bute Merthyr was being worked by United National Collieries Ltd in 1932. ⁴
• Two repairers were killed at Bute Colliery, Treherbert, by a runaway journey of drams on 30 December 1936. ⁵
• A plan of the Lady Margaret, Bute Merthyr, Tydraw, Ynysfeio and Abergorky workings in the Five Feet and Seven Feet (Bute) seams records abandonment on 14 July 1940. ⁶
• Recorded in the national monuments record as Bute Colliery, at SS 93480 98410. ⁷

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Bute Colliery, Treherbert — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Bute Merthyr Colliery — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Accident record: Benjamin Evan Davies, Bute Merthyr, 1913 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Accident record: Arthur Morse, Bute Merthyr, 1932 — Northern Mine Research Society
5. (secondary) 1936 fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Lady Margaret, Bute Merthyr, Tydraw, Ynysfeio, Abergorky (Five Feet and Seven Feet seams) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
7. (secondary) Bute Colliery (NPRN 80564) — Coflein (RCAHMW)

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026