MineArchiveCwm Glo Colliery
| Also known as | Cwm-y-Glo Colliery, Cwm Glo Drift Mine |
|---|---|
| Location | Varteg Hill, above Varteg, near Pontypool, Torfaen — 51.7509, -3.0707 (exact) |
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1992–1997 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
Overview
A small private drift mine on Varteg Hill above Varteg, worked from 1992 to 1997, whose corrugated adit shed and loading gear still stand.
History
Cwm Glo Colliery, also called Cwm-y-Glo, was a small drift mine on Varteg Hill above Varteg, near Pontypool, lying in a dip just beyond the head of the old Varteg Incline and close to Varteg Hill Colliery. It was opened in the 1990s and worked for about five years, from 1992 to 1997.
Its surface works were small. At the top a blockwork winding house held a winding drum with a steel rope, and a tunnel of corrugated iron carrying two tramways led down to the drift entrance. There were screens, a loading dock and a safety brake, and a haulage engine and compressor building. An access road on an embankment three metres high ran north for about 150 metres to the trackbed of the former LNWR Varteg Hill Colliery branch, which served the mine as its track to the B4248.
Geology
The South Wales coalfield on Varteg Hill.
Workings
A drift reached through a corrugated-iron tunnel carrying two tramways, hauled by a winding drum and steel rope from a blockwork winding house; screens and a loading dock at the surface.
Closure
Worked for about five years and closed in 1997; the drift entrance is blocked with spoil.
What remains
The drift entrance is blocked with spoil. The haulage engine and compressor building stood until 2008 and has gone; the green corrugated adit shed, screens, loading dock, rails and safety brake remain, and the site is slowly being stripped.
The green corrugated-iron adit shed, screens, loading dock, rails and safety brake; the access road on its embankment.
Related mines
- Varteg Hill Colliery — Cwm Glo's access road ran to the trackbed of the Varteg Hill Colliery branch railway, which served it as a track to the road.
Nearby mines
- Varteg Hill Colliery — 0.1 miles (0.2 km) SW
- Lower Varteg Colliery — 0.8 miles (1.4 km) SW
- Golynos Colliery — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) S
- Varteg Red Ash Level — 1.4 miles (2.2 km) W
- Navigation Colliery, Talywain — 1.6 miles (2.5 km) S
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (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.
- Cwm Glo was a small drift mine worked from 1992 to 1997. 1,2
- A blockwork winding house held a winding drum with a steel rope, and a corrugated-iron tunnel carrying two tramways led to the entrance. 2
- Its access road ran about 150 metres north on an embankment to the former LNWR Varteg Hill Colliery branch. 3
- The haulage engine and compressor building stood until 2008; the screens, loading dock, rails and safety brake remain. 1
Sources
- (observational) North and West Abersychan: the industrial archaeology and history — Varteg — Industrial Gwent
- (primary) Cwm Glo Drift Mine, Varteg (NPRN 67709) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
- (primary) Cwm Glo Drift Mine Access Road (NPRN 67723) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
Record created: 24 October 2026 · Last researched: 24 October 2026