Dinas Isha Colliery

Overview

A pit at Penrhiwfer, near Tonyrefail, opened in 1874 by Hugh Begg's Dinas Isaf Coal Company and later owned by the Ely Rhondda Colliery Company for three decades. It employed over 100 men at its early-1900s peak before its owners closed it in November 1911.

History

Dinas Isha (also Dinas Isaf) Pit at Penrhiwfer, near Tonyrefail, was opened in 1874 by Hugh Begg of the Dinas Isaf Coal Company, striking the Four Foot seam at 130 yards; by 1891 its downcast shaft was 13 feet in diameter and its upcast 14 feet, both 390 feet deep, and the coal was worked by pillar and stall. Output reached 91,000 tons in 1881, though it had fallen to 41,000 tons by 1889. The colliery was managed by D.R. Thomas as early as 1878; ownership passed to Daniel Thomas and Company by 1884 (managed by Howell John), and then to the Ely Rhondda Colliery Company of Penygraig by 1893, under whom it remained until closure. Hugh Begg, the founding part-owner, died on Sunday 25 October (year not stated in the source). Manpower held fairly steady across the Ely Rhondda years: 102 men underground and 14 on the surface in 1891, 109 and 13 in 1898, falling to 73 and 11 by 1903 before recovering to 90 and 11 in 1908 and 101 men in 1909, then declining again to 60 and 10 by 1911. The pit abandoned its No.3 Rhondda seam in December 1907 and its No.2 Rhondda seam in November 1911; the Ely Rhondda Collieries Co. Ltd announced its decision to close Dinas Isha Colliery that same month, and it was formally abandoned on 25 November 1911.

Geology

Worked the Four Foot, No.2 Rhondda and No.3 Rhondda seams of the South Wales Coalfield.

Workings

Twin shafts, downcast and upcast, worked by pillar and stall, reaching the Four Foot seam at 130 yards and later the No.2 and No.3 Rhondda seams.

Closure

The No.2 Rhondda seam was abandoned in November 1911 and the colliery formally closed on 25 November 1911, on the Ely Rhondda Collieries Co. Ltd's own decision.

What remains

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Cilely Colliery — 0.7 km W
• Coedely Colliery — 1.3 km S
• Cymmer Colliery — 1.5 km NE
• Tynewydd Colliery, Porth — 1.8 km N
• Lewis Merthyr Colliery — 2.1 km NE

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.

• Opened in 1874 by Hugh Begg's Dinas Isaf Coal Company, striking the Four Foot seam at 130 yards; by 1891 the twin shafts were 390 feet deep, worked by pillar and stall. ¹
• Managed by D.R. Thomas from 1878, owned by Daniel Thomas and Company from 1884 (managed by Howell John), and by the Ely Rhondda Colliery Company from 1893 until closure. ^2,1
• Output reached 91,000 tons in 1881 (41,000 tons by 1889); manpower ranged from a low of 73 men underground in 1903 to a peak of 109 in 1898 and 101 in 1909. ^2,1
• The No.2 Rhondda seam was abandoned in November 1911 and the Ely Rhondda Collieries Co. Ltd formally closed the pit on 25 November 1911. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Dinas Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Ely valley and surroundings — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 15 September 2026