Cwmlucu Colliery

Overview

A small pit of 305 feet at Blaendare, Pontypool, also called Cwm Lickey, worked by the Pontypool and Ebbw Vale iron companies and later by David Buck; its seams were abandoned in 1949 and the shaft filled in 1964.

History

Cwmlucu, also known as Cwm Lickey, was a small pit 305 feet deep at Blaendare, near Pontypool. In 1864 the Cwmlickey pits were worked by the Pontypool Iron Company, and A. Darby and Company are recorded as owners in 1865. By 1867 the pit belonged to the Ebbw Vale company, which worked it through the 1870s with S. Birrel as manager. Its trams ran down an incline that needed sprags and shoes on the wheels, and in 1864 a collier was killed trying to hold back a runaway.

Between 1883 and 1891 the Ebbw Vale company leased out its mines in the district; in 1888 Cwm Lickey was under the management of D. Reese. In 1879 the colliers of the Glyn and Cwmlickey pits struck against a ten per cent cut in wages. A fall of roof 15 yards long killed a haulier in 1878.

In 1900 the pit was owned by David Buck of Race House, Pontypool, with Gathorne J. Fisher as manager and 38 men underground and 5 at the surface; 28 were employed in 1902 and 1903. Work was said to be suspended in 1907 and 1908. The Red Vein, Meadow Vein, Rock Vein, Old Coal and Nine Feet seams were recorded as abandoned in 1949, and the shaft was filled in May 1964. Five men are known to have died in accidents there.

Geology

Coal Measures of the eastern South Wales Coalfield; the Red Vein, Meadow Vein, Rock Vein, Old Coal and Nine Feet seams were worked, and the plans show ironstone 'mine' veins alongside the coal.

Workings

A shaft 305 feet deep, shown on combined plans with the neighbouring Flue, Glyn and Balance pits and several levels; trams ran on an incline worked with sprags and wheel shoes.

Closure

Work was said to be suspended in 1907 and 1908; the seams were recorded as abandoned in 1949, and the shaft was filled in May 1964.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Blaendare Colliery — A single plan covers the workings of the Cwmlickey and Blaendare collieries, and Welsh Coal Mines describes them together.
• Glyn Pits, Pontypool — Neighbouring pits on the same Pontypool minerals plan; their colliers struck together in 1879.

Recorded claims

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

• A small pit 305 feet deep, the same pit as Cwm Lickey. ¹
• In 1864 the Cwmlickey pits were worked by the Pontypool Iron Company. ²
• Owned in 1865 by A. Darby and Company. ¹
• By 1867 it belonged to the Ebbw Vale company, which worked it in 1870 and 1878 under S. Birrel. ^1,3
• In May 1879 the colliers of the Glyn and Cwmlickey pits struck against a proposed ten per cent wage reduction. ⁴
• In September 1878 a haulier was killed by a fall of roof 15 yards long, 3 yards wide and about a yard thick. ⁵
• In 1900 David Buck of Race House, Pontypool, owned it, with 38 men underground and 5 at the surface. ¹
• The Red Vein, Meadow Vein, Rock Vein, Old Coal and Nine Feet seams were abandoned in 1949, and the pit was filled in May 1964. ¹
• Its workings appear on a combined plan of the Pontypool minerals with the Flue, Glyn and Balance pits. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Blaendare Drift, Pontypool — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Pontypool: accident in a coal-pit, inquest (Illustrated Usk Observer, 13 February 1864) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
3. (primary) Pontypool: accidental death at the Cwmlickey pit (Monmouthshire Merlin, 17 August 1867) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
4. (primary) Strike at the Glyn and Cwmlickey pits (The Western Mail, 13 May 1879) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
5. (primary) Pontypool: fatal accident at Cwmlickey (Monmouthshire Merlin, 20 September 1878) — Welsh Newspapers (National Library of Wales)
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Pontypool minerals, Cwmlucu Pits, Flue Pits, Glyn Pits, Balance Pits and levels — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 9 October 2026