Carway Colliery

Overview

A Gwendraeth valley anthracite drift opened in 1863 and worked for nearly a century, on the westernmost edge of the South Wales coalfield. It had only four gas outbursts in its whole life, which for that valley was remarkable, and when it closed in 1960 its men went to Cynheidre.

History

Carway was opened as a drift mine by the Carway Collieries Company in 1863 and was in the hands of the Carway and Duffryn Coal Company by 1869. The Carway Collieries Limited employed ninety-three men in 1908, 157 by 1918 and 190 by 1923, all working the Big Vein. It later passed to Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries and, at nationalisation in 1947, to the National Coal Board, which returned 325 employed and 50,000 tons of anthracite that year. It was a typical mine for its district, employing between two and three hundred at any time and producing around 1,250 tons of anthracite a week. It worked five seams — the Big Vein, Braslyd, Ddugaled, Felin and Soap — in ground close to Trimsaran's but separated from it by the Trimsaran fault. The Gwendraeth valley is outburst country: seams of anthracite under pressure that blow gas and fine coal into the workings without warning. Carway had only four in its whole life, a very low figure for the valley, and only two men were ever killed by one: Joseph Sidney Eynon and James Owen, both on 26 May 1944. There were 237 employed in 1945. The mine closed in July 1960 and its workforce went to man the new Cynheidre colliery.

Geology

The colliery worked anthracite on the western outcrop of the South Wales coalfield in the Gwendraeth valley, taking the Big Vein, Braslyd, Ddugaled, Felin and Soap seams. Its workings ran close to Trimsaran's and were separated from them by the Trimsaran fault. The Gwendraeth anthracite is prone to outbursts of gas and fine coal, and Carway's near-freedom from them is a fact about its particular ground rather than about its management.

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

Workings

A drift mine, one of the most westerly workings in the coalfield. Nothing further about the layout is recorded in the sources read.

Closure

Closed in July 1960, its workforce transferring to the new Cynheidre colliery.

What remains

No account of the colliery site as it is now was found. An old colliery pump house stands on the road between Pontyates and Carway.

A colliery pump house survives on the road between Pontyates and Carway.

Redevelopment

Not established.

Related mines

• Blaenhirwaun Colliery — Two Gwendraeth anthracite mines of the same district that both ended by handing their men to Cynheidre — Carway in July 1960 and Blaenhirwaun in September 1962.
• Cynheidre Colliery — Carway closed in July 1960 and its workforce went straight to man the new Cynheidre colliery, which was being sunk to take the Gwendraeth valley's anthracite on a scale the old drifts could not.
• Llandebie Colliery — Both were Carmarthenshire anthracite mines that passed through Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries to the National Coal Board.
• Trimsaran Colliery — Most of the Trimsaran workforce went to Carway or Pentremawr when the National Coal Board closed the colliery in April 1954.

Nearby mines

• Trimsaran Colliery — 2.0 km S
• Pontyberem Colliery — 2.2 km NE
• Cynheidre Colliery — 3.6 km E
• Smarts Quarry — 3.8 km W
• Gwendraeth Colliery — 6.2 km NE

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.

• Carway drift mine was opened by the Carway Collieries Company in 1863 and was in the hands of the Carway and Duffryn Coal Company by 1869; Carway Collieries Limited were the owners in 1908, and the colliery later passed to Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries and to the National Coal Board in 1947. ^1,2
• The mine employed ninety-three men in 1908, 157 by 1918, 190 by 1923 working the Big Vein, 237 in 1945 and 325 in 1947, when it produced 50,000 tons of anthracite. It worked five seams — the Big Vein, Braslyd, Ddugaled, Felin and Soap — and was typical for the area, employing between two and three hundred men and producing around 1,250 tons of anthracite a week. ^1,2
• The workings were close to those of Trimsaran but were separated from them by the Trimsaran fault. ¹
• Only four outbursts of methane gas and fine coal occurred at the mine, a very low figure for the Gwendraeth valley, and the only two fatalities from outbursts there were Joseph Sidney Eynon and James Owen on 26 May 1944. ¹
• The mine closed in July 1960, its workforce going to man the Cynheidre colliery. ¹
• An old colliery pump house stands on the road between Pontyates and Carway. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Carway Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Carway Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (observational) Old Pump House, between Pontyates and Carway, Geograph 3004455 — Geograph Britain and Ireland

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