Eastern Colliery

Overview

A Ton Pentre steam-coal colliery sunk by David Davies & Co. in 1877, worked by the Ocean Coal Company, and merged into neighbouring Maindy, which took its workforce in 1939.

History

Eastern Colliery stood at Ton Pentre in the Rhondda Fawr. It was the last pit sunk in the Rhondda Fawr by David Davies of Llandinam and his partners, who had taken the mineral rights to 8,000 acres at Cwm Parc and Maindy in 1864, became David Davies and Company in 1867 and sank the Maindy, Park and Dare pits before it. Eastern first produced coal in July 1877, and the sinking cost £47,727. In 1887 the collieries passed to the newly formed Ocean Coal Company.

In 1891 both shafts were 15 feet across and 334 yards deep; they were later deepened to the New seams, the Lower New lying at 478 yards. Ventilation was first by a furnace at the foot of the upcast shaft, and a 40-foot Waddle fan was installed in 1896. The Bute seam, known here as Brunt's seam, and the Nine-Feet were worked extensively. The colliery employed 460 men in 1880 and 1,018 in 1890, when it raised 291,796 tons. Only 32 were returned in 1896, possibly while the pit was deepened, but 785 worked there in 1908 and 923 in 1923, producing steam coal from the New No. 4, Bute and Lower seams.

Employment fell to 190 by 1934 and 311 in 1938. In 1939 the workforce was transferred en bloc to Maindy Colliery, with which Eastern had been merged by nationalisation; Maindy ceased production in 1948. The men of Maindy and Eastern paid by subscription for the Ton Pentre workmen's institute of 1895, which first took the name of both pits and is now the Phoenix cinema.

Geology

South Wales Coalfield steam-coal measures. The sinking found the Two-Feet-Nine at 291 yards, the Four-Feet at 321, the Six-Feet at 349, the Red Vein at 353, the Nine-Feet at 376, the Three-Feet-Ten at 441, Phil's at 452, the Upper New at 475 and the Lower New at 478 yards. The Bute seam, called Brunt's seam here, was 48 to 54 inches thick and the Nine-Feet 66 to 78 inches.

Workings

Two shafts 15 feet in diameter, 334 yards deep in 1891 and later deepened to the New seams. Furnace ventilation at the foot of the upcast was replaced by a 40-foot Waddle fan in 1896. The Eastern and Maindy shafts appear together on one abandonment plan of the Bute (Brunt's) seam.

Closure

Employment fell to 190 by 1934. In 1939 the workforce was transferred en bloc to Maindy Colliery, with which Eastern had been merged by 1947; Maindy ceased production in 1948.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Maindy Colliery — Eastern's workforce was transferred en bloc to Maindy in 1939, the two were merged by 1947, and one abandonment plan covers the shafts of both.

Recorded claims

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

• Eastern was David Davies and Company's last sinking in the Rhondda Fawr; it first produced coal in July 1877 and the sinking cost £47,727. ¹
• In 1891 both shafts were 15 feet in diameter and 334 yards deep; they were later deepened to the Upper New seam at 463 yards. ²
• The sinking found the Upper New at 475 yards and the Lower New at 478 yards. ¹
• Furnace ventilation at the foot of the upcast was supplemented by a 40-foot Waddle fan installed in 1896. ¹
• The colliery employed 1,018 in 1890, 785 in 1908 and 923 in 1923. ^1,2
• Eastern effectively closed in 1939 when its workforce was transferred en bloc to Maindy Colliery. ²
• Eastern Colliery at Pentre was opened in 1877 by D. Davies & Co. and closed in 1948, with a peak of 923 men in 1923 working the Bute and Lower seams. ³
• The Ton Pentre workmen's institute of 1895 was built from subscriptions from the Maindy and Eastern collieries and first took the name of both pits. ⁴
• The Eastern and Maindy shafts are recorded together on an abandonment plan of the Bute, or Brunt's, seam. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Eastern Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Eastern Colliery Ton Pentre - Welsh Coal Mines — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) List of collieries in the Rhondda Valleys — Wikipedia
4. (secondary) Ton Pentre — Wikipedia
5. (primary) BGS mine plans: Eastern Pits/Maindy [shafts only] (Brunt's seam [Bute]) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 1 October 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026