Elled Colliery

Overview

A level at Pontnewynydd, near Pontypool, opened on the site of the old Tranch Colliery to work the Elled seam, later run by the Mynydd Maen company as an outlier linked to its own mine.

History

Elled Colliery, or the Elled Level, was opened at Pontnewynydd, near Pontypool, on the site of the old Tranch Colliery of 1871, by the Elled Colliery Co. Ltd. in the 1890s. As its name says, it was opened to work the Elled seam, the uppermost of the steam-coal seams; a price list for the Elled seam at Elled Colliery, Pontnewynydd, survives from 1900, and in 1903 the company's under-manager wrote from the 'Elled & Tranch Colliery'. Mining is recorded on the site from at least 1872.

Only nine men worked there in 1896, while it was still being developed; there were 125 in 1908 and 251 in 1918. Later owned by the New Elled Colliery and Bye Products Co., it employed 310 men in 1923, working the Big Vein and Old Coal.

In 1924 the Mynydd Maen Colliery Co. Ltd. bought it and at once made an underground connection between the two mines; the New Elled slope became Mynydd Maen's return airway. The New Elled company, renamed the New Elled Colliery Co. Ltd. that year, stayed a separate company but was run by Mynydd Maen. The workforce was 158 in 1938. Elled closed as a producing mine in 1943 and was kept on maintenance until about 1951.

Geology

Coal Measures of the South Wales Coalfield. It was opened in the Elled seam, the uppermost of the steam-coal seams; by 1923 it worked the Big Vein and Old Coal.

Workings

A level (the Elled Level) and later the New Elled slope, linked underground to Mynydd Maen in 1924 and used as its return airway.

Closure

Closed as a producing mine in 1943 and kept on maintenance until about 1951. A later mine, Tranch Elled, worked from 1957 until 6 October 1972.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Mynydd Maen Colliery — The Mynydd Maen Colliery Co. bought Elled in 1924, connected the two underground and used the New Elled slope as Mynydd Maen's return airway.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The mine operated from at least 1872 to 1943. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Opened in the 1890s at Pontnewynydd on the site of the old Tranch Colliery (1871) by the Elled Colliery Co. Ltd., initially to work the Elled seam. ¹
• A price list for the Elled seam at Elled Colliery, Pontnewynydd, was printed in 1900. ²
• In 1903 the under-manager of the Elled & Tranch Colliery wrote for the Elled Colliery Co. Ltd. ³
• The mine operated from at least 1872 to 1943. (uncertain) ¹
• There were 9 men in 1896, 125 in 1908, 251 in 1918, 310 in 1923 and 158 in 1938. ¹
• In 1924 the Mynydd Maen Colliery Co. Ltd. bought the mine and made an underground connection; New Elled slope became Mynydd Maen's return airway. ¹
• Closed as a production unit in 1943 and kept on maintenance until about 1951. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Elled and Mynydd Maen — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Elled Colliery, price list (1900) — Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
3. (secondary) Letter from the under-manager of Elled & Tranch Colliery (1903) — Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales

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