Carne Park Colliery

Overview

A small group of levels south-west of St Donat's Church, Abercynon, worked on and off for a century: by 1864, by a series of short-lived partnerships and companies, by the Richardson brothers from the First World War, and under Coal Board licence until 1965.

History

Carne Park was a small colliery of several levels to the south-west of St Donat's Church, Abercynon. It was working by 1864 by one account, its owner unknown; another account has it opened in 1867 by John Davis Weston and Evan Llewellyn, who raised 1,175 tons that year before their partnership was dissolved in 1869. The Carne Park Colliery Company reopened it in 1872 and raised 4,211 tons in 1873, but in 1874 it was closed and put up for auction with about 320 acres: the coal cropped out at the surface and was worked by a day level capable of 40 tons a day, while the deep steam coal below was not for sale.

Working resumed in the new century. In 1908 the level employed 26 men, by 1910 it belonged to the Carne Park Colliery Company Limited, and in 1913 it had 74. The company went bankrupt, and by late 1914 the level was abandoned and its siding sold to the Albion Colliery Company. The Richardson brothers had it working again by 1916 or 1918, but abandoned it in 1922.

Carne Park was not nationalised in 1947. In the 1950s it was worked under licence from the Coal Board by T. M. James and D. D. Leonard, or D. Leonard and Partners, producing 1,014 tons in 1956; the licence was ended in 1965 and the level abandoned.

Geology

Coal Measures of the South Wales coalfield: an outcropping seam worked by day levels, recorded on the plans as the Cefn Glas (Carne Park) seam; deeper steam coal lay below.

Workings

Several day levels and an air shaft; a siding later sold to the Albion Colliery Company.

Closure

Abandoned in 1914 and again in 1922; worked under Coal Board licence in the 1950s until the licence ended in 1965.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

What's uncertain

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

• Carne Park was working by 1864, its owner then unknown. (disputed) ¹
• Carne Park level was opened in 1867 by John Davis Weston and Evan Llewellyn, raising 1,175 tons that year. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Carne Park was working by 1864, its owner then unknown. (disputed) ¹
• Carne Park level was opened in 1867 by John Davis Weston and Evan Llewellyn, raising 1,175 tons that year. (disputed) ²
• In 1874 the colliery was put up for auction with about 320 acres; it was worked by a day level capable of 40 tons a day. ²
• By 1910 it belonged to the Carne Park Colliery Company Limited, which went bankrupt. ^2,1
• The Richardson brothers reopened the colliery, by 1916 by one account and in 1918 by another, and abandoned it in 1922. ^2,1
• Carne Park was not nationalised in 1947; in the 1950s it was worked under Coal Board licence, and the licence ended in 1965. ^2,1

Sources

1. (secondary) Abercynon heritage trail (Carne Park Colliery) — Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
2. (secondary) Abercynon Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (primary) BGS mine plans: Carne Park (Park Newydd estate), unnamed level and air shaft, Cefn Glas (Carne Park) seam — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026