Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery

Also known as	Llanerch Padarn Levels, Red Ash Levels, Cwmtillery
Location	Tillery valley, Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent — 51.7521, -3.1364 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1888–January 1949
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	South Wales Colliery Company (1888–1888), Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery Company (1889–1909), Lancaster's Steam Coal Company (1912–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1949)

Overview

A group of levels in the Tillery valley above Abertillery working the Tillery or Red Ash seam, started in 1888, worked by its own company to 1909 and by Lancaster's from 1912, reopened in 1930 with new levels at Llanerch Padarn, and closed by the National Coal Board in January 1949.

History

Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery, in the Tillery valley above Abertillery, was not one mine but a series of levels opened at different sites over the years, all working the Tillery seam, known as the Red Ash. The South Wales Colliery Company started it in 1888 but abandoned it the same year. The Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery Company restarted it in 1889 and worked it until 1909, apart from a strike in 1903-05 and repairs in 1908, when only four men were employed. It had 60 men in 1896.

From 1912 Red Ash levels reappear as 'opening' under Lancaster's Steam Coal Collieries; they were abandoned on 21 February 1914 and listed as idle in 1918. The Lancaster company restarted the mine in 1930, producing again from 1931, and in 1934 opened three new levels at the Llanerch Padarn site. The workforce was 186 in 1938 and 108 in 1945. The National Coal Board closed it in January 1949.

Geology

The Tillery seam, called the Red Ash.

Workings

Several levels at different sites over its life, including three new levels opened at Llanerch Padarn in 1934.

Closure

Closed by the National Coal Board in January 1949; the earlier levels were abandoned in 1888, about 1902 and in February 1914.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Cwmtillery Colliery — 0.6 miles (0.9 km) SE
Henwaun Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) NW
Rose Heyworth Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) SW
South Griffin Colliery — 1.0 miles (1.6 km) W
Beynon Colliery — 1.3 miles (2.1 km) NW

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.

Started in 1888 by the South Wales Colliery Company and abandoned the same year; restarted in 1889 by the Cwmtillery Red Ash Colliery Company. ¹
It employed 60 men in 1896, 186 in 1938 and 108 in 1945. ¹
The Cwmtillery Red Ash workings in the Tillery seam were abandoned in 1914. ^1,2
Three new levels were opened at Llanerch Padarn in 1934. ¹
Cwmtillery Red Ash, formerly Llanerch Padarn, was abandoned in 1949; the National Coal Board closed it in January that year. ^1,3

Photographs & further reading

Welsh Coal Mines: Cwmtillery Red Ash (reference)

The levels' owners and dates from 1888 to 1949, with a 2007 photograph of Llanerch Padarn.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Cwmtillery Red Ash — Welsh Coal Mines
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: CWMTILLERY RED ASH, Red Ash (Tillery), abandoned 1914 — British Geological Survey
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: CWMTILLERY RED ASH (FORMERLY LLANERCH PADARN), Red Ash (Tillery), abandoned 1949 — British Geological Survey

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