Cwmcarn Colliery

Overview

A colliery that started as an appendage of another. Coal working in the Cwmcarn area began in 1836 with a shallow shaft sunk for the Prince of Wales Colliery at Abercarn, and in 1877 the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company sank a new shaft here to help ventilate that colliery. It was that shaft rescue teams used after the Prince of Wales explosion of 11 September 1878, in which 268 died. Cwmcarn later became a colliery in its own right, was acquired by Partridge Jones and John Paton in 1935, and outlasted its parent: the Prince of Wales ended its days as Cwmcarn’s pumping and ventilation pit. The National Coal Board closed Cwmcarn in November 1968.

History

Colliery development in the Cwmcarn area started in 1836, when a single shallow downshaft of 180 feet, the Abercarn No. 6, was sunk into the Rock or Tillery seam for the nearby Prince of Wales Colliery at Abercarn, then operated by the Monmouthshire Iron and Coal Company. A second shaft followed in 1877, sunk by the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company to target the deeper No. 4 Steam and Black Vein seams and, at the time, to help ventilate the Prince of Wales; it later became part of the Cwmcarn colliery. On the morning of 11 September 1878, 325 men and boys were underground at the Prince of Wales when a massive explosion tore through the workings and 268 of them died — the worst colliery disaster recorded in Gwent. The Cwmcarn shaft was used by the rescue teams. Cwmcarn was afterwards run as an individual unit, and was acquired by Partridge, Jones and John Paton and Company in 1935. Its parent outlived it only on paper: by the mid-1930s the Prince of Wales was down to 35 men and was maintained as a pumping and ventilation pit for Cwmcarn, its pithead offices serving as the National Coal Board’s administrative centre for the South Wales No. 6 area, until its shafts were filled and the site cleared in 1959. Cwmcarn itself was closed by the National Coal Board in November 1968 and the site cleared after becoming uneconomic.

Geology

The south-eastern edge of the South Wales coalfield. The first shallow shaft of 1836 was sunk into the Rock, or Tillery, seam; the shaft of 1877 was driven for the deeper No. 4 Steam and Black Vein seams.

Workings

Shafts sunk in stages for other purposes before the colliery existed in its own right: a 180-foot shallow shaft of 1836 into the Rock seam, and a deeper shaft of 1877 for the No. 4 Steam and Black Vein seams which doubled as ventilation for the Prince of Wales at Abercarn. In the colliery’s last decades the Prince of Wales served in the reverse direction, as Cwmcarn’s pumping and ventilation pit.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in November 1968 as uneconomic, and the site cleared. The colliery buildings were demolished and reclamation began in the early 1970s.

What remains

The Cwmcarn Forest Drive now runs over the shafts of the colliery, and relics of colliery buildings can still be seen on the slope above the old shaft. The lake now stocked by the Cwmcarn Angling Association was originally downstream of the colliery’s washery.

Relics of colliery buildings on the slope above the old shaft, and the washery’s downstream pond, now an angling lake.

Redevelopment

The Cwmcarn Forest Drive, which runs over the colliery shafts.

Related mines

• Prince of Wales Colliery — Parent and offspring, then the other way about: Cwmcarn began as shafts sunk to serve and ventilate the Prince of Wales at Abercarn, and its shaft was used by the rescue teams after the 1878 explosion there. By the mid-1930s the roles had reversed, the Prince of Wales surviving on 35 men as Cwmcarn’s pumping and ventilation pit until its shafts were filled in 1959.

Nearby mines

• Celynen Colliery — 1.4 km N
• Prince of Wales Colliery — 1.6 km N
• Risca New Pit — 2.0 km SE
• Nine Mile Point Colliery — 3.1 km SW
• Wyllie Colliery — 3.2 km NW

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.

• Colliery development in the Cwmcarn area started in 1836, when a single shallow 180-foot downshaft, the Abercarn No. 6, was sunk into the Rock or Tillery seam for the nearby Prince of Wales Colliery at Abercarn, operated by the Monmouthshire Iron and Coal Company. ¹
• A new shaft was sunk in 1877 some distance away at Cwmcarn to help with ventilation, and later became part of the Cwmcarn colliery. It was excavated by the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron and Coal Company to target the deeper No. 4 Steam and Black Vein seams. ^2,1
• On the morning of 11 September 1878 there were 325 men and boys working underground at the Prince of Wales Colliery when a massive explosion ripped through the workings; 268 of them perished, in the worst colliery disaster recorded in Gwent. ²
• The colliery was run as an individual unit until it was acquired by Partridge, Jones and John Paton and Company in 1935, and was closed by the National Coal Board in November 1968 after becoming uneconomical to run. ¹
• By the mid-1930s the Prince of Wales Colliery employed only 35 men and was maintained as a pumping and ventilation pit for Cwmcarn Colliery, its pithead offices used as the administration centre by the National Coal Board for the South Wales No. 6 area. Its shafts were filled and the site cleared in 1959. ²
• The Cwmcarn Forest Drive now runs over the shafts of the colliery, and relics of colliery buildings can still be seen on the slope above the old shaft. The present-day lake stocked by the Cwmcarn Angling Association was originally downstream of the colliery’s washery. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Cwmcarn — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Abercarn Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines

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