Cefn Bryn Colliery

Overview

A level at Bryn, between Maesteg and Port Talbot, opened in 1901 and enlarged after it struck the Golden Vein in 1909; it grew to some 200 men by the late 1920s under a Milford Haven company and gave up its last seam in 1935.

History

Cefn Bryn, also called Cefn-y-Bryn, was a level at Bryn, between Maesteg and Port Talbot. William Thomas opened it in 1901, and by 1903 it employed 15 men; it was listed as reopening under Samuel Williams in 1905 and held by him until 1908, when the Cefn Bryn Colliery Company took it over. In February 1909 the Colliery Guardian reported that it had struck the Golden Vein and Rider coal, a coal of excellent quality for house and manufacturing use, and the new level grew from 31 men to 115 by 1913. The company stayed outside the Monmouthshire and South Wales Coal Owners' Association, and its tenure was troubled: the men were on strike over price lists from May 1914 to August 1915, the owners and manager were fined in 1915 for 31 breaches of the Coal Mines Act, and there was another strike in August 1917. In 1911 a pumpsman was crushed when a runaway journey of drams knocked out the timbers. Offered for sale in 1922 without a buyer, the colliery belonged by 1925 to the Wern-y-Bryn Colliery Company of The Docks, Milford Haven, which renamed it Werny Bryn. Employment reached about 200 in 1928-32, and in 1930, with 160 men underground in the Golden seam and 33 at the surface, it raised 50,000 tons; June 1928 brought two fatal accidents in a fortnight. The Lower Cockshot seam was abandoned in 1924, the Golden in 1931 and the Upper Cockshot in 1935, when only thirteen men were listed.

Geology

South Wales Coal Measures: the Golden Vein (Golden seam) and Rider coal, and the Lower and Upper Cockshot seams; the 'Upper Cockshot' of the 1935 listing may have been the Lower Pentre seam, about 33 inches thick here.

Workings

A level (adit), with a new level called Cefn y Bryn opened around 1908-09; haulage by journeys of drams.

Closure

The Lower Cockshot seam was abandoned in 1924, the Golden seam in 1931 and the Upper Cockshot seam in 1935.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Cefn Bryn was opened in 1901 by William Thomas and employed 15 men by 1903. ¹
• In February 1909 the colliery struck the Golden Vein and Rider coal, described as of excellent quality for house and manufacturing use. ¹
• In 1915 the owners and manager were fined for 31 breaches of the Coal Mines Act; the men were on strike over price lists from May 1914 to August 1915. ¹
• On 12 December 1911 a pumpsman at Cefn-y-Bryn Colliery, near Port Talbot, was killed when a journey of drams ran back and knocked out timber, bringing down the roof. ²
• In June 1928 Cefn Bryn Colliery had two fatal accidents in a fortnight: a collier killed by a fall of stone and a rider struck by a runaway journey. ³
• In 1930 the colliery employed 160 men underground in the Golden seam and 33 at the surface and produced 50,000 tons. ¹
• The Golden seam was abandoned in 1931 and the Upper Cockshot seam in 1935. ^1,4

Sources

1. (secondary) Cefn Bryn Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1911 — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines fatalities, 1928 — Welsh Coal Mines
4. (primary) BGS mine plans: Cefn-y-Bryn, Golden seam, abandoned 1931 — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
5. (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1908 — Welsh Coal Mines

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