Glyn Colliery, Tonyrefail

Overview

A colliery of two levels at Tonyrefail in the Ely Valley, working the No.2 and No.3 Rhondda seams from 1878. Its workforce nearly doubled in three years around the turn of the century, peaking at 359 men in 1901, before the colliery was abandoned in 1903.

History

Glyn Colliery consisted of the Cwm and Cwm Water Levels at Tonyrefail in the Ely Valley, working the No.3 Rhondda seam (31 to 36 inches thick) and, more extensively, the No.2 Rhondda seam (14 inches of coal, 6 of dirt, 24 of coal) and the Forest Fach seam, operating between 1878 and 1903. It was owned by the Glyn Colliery Company of Tonyrefail, managed by J. Gibbon in 1884 and by Thomas Williams from 1896, when it employed 232 men underground and 34 on the surface. The workforce grew quickly around the turn of the century: 297 men in 1899, 300 in 1900, a peak of 359 in 1901, and 335 in 1902, before the colliery was listed as abandoned in 1903. James Perret, a 62-year-old carpenter, and Thomas Eastman, a 46-year-old collier, both died at the colliery in 1900.

Geology

Worked the No.2 Rhondda (14in coal/6in dirt/24in coal), No.3 Rhondda (31–36in) and Forest Fach seams.

Workings

Two levels, Cwm and Cwm Water, working the No.2 and No.3 Rhondda and Forest Fach seams.

Closure

Listed as abandoned in 1903, at the end of a period of rapid workforce growth rather than decline.

What remains

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Coedely Colliery — 3.9 km N
• Llanharry Iron Mine — 4.2 km S
• Cilely Colliery — 4.9 km N
• Dinas Isha Colliery — 5.3 km N
• Cwm Colliery — 5.4 km E

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.

• Consisted of the Cwm and Cwm Water Levels, working the No.3 Rhondda (31–36in), No.2 Rhondda (14in coal/6in dirt/24in coal) and Forest Fach seams, operating 1878–1903 under the Glyn Colliery Company. ¹
• Employment grew from 232 men in 1896 to a peak of 359 in 1901, before the colliery was listed as abandoned in 1903. ¹
• James Perret, 62, a carpenter, and Thomas Eastman, 46, a collier, both died at Glyn Colliery in 1900. ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Ely valley and surroundings — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Fatalities 1900 — Welsh Coal Mines

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