Graig Colliery, Aberdare

Overview

A steam-coal pit on the lower slopes of Mynydd Graig above Aberdare, begun in 1834 by the Waynes, owners of neighbouring Gadlys, with shafts to the Five Feet at 248 yards and the Nine Feet at 176 yards. It employed 370 men in 1896 and stopped production about 1901.

History

Graig Colliery, also called Gadlys Graig, stood on the lower slopes of Mynydd Graig at Aberdare. The Wayne family's company, which owned the nearby Gadlys colliery, began mining there in 1834. No. 1 shaft was sunk to the Five Feet seam at 248 yards and No. 2, the upcast, to the Nine Feet at 176 yards, and the pit was at first ventilated by a furnace. In 1896, under Wayne's Merthyr Company, it employed 370 men producing steam coal.

The pit had its share of accidents. Rees Price, a wasteman, was run over by drams in 1863, and in 1866 Edward Harris, a collier, was killed by a fall of stone and Ann Butler, 21, was run over by drams while working on the surface. An explosion in June 1869 badly burned four men. On 20 February 1871 William Veal, a Somerset farmer visiting underground, was lowered with an engineer and a fireman; a mix-up over signals sent the cage back up as they got out, and Veal fell into the seven-foot-deep sump and drowned. On 26 February 1892 an explosion during sinking killed one man and injured eleven (see Disasters, below).

Production ceased about 1901. Powell Duffryn afterwards took the pit over, possibly for pumping and ventilation for its other collieries in the area.

Geology

The Five Feet seam at 248 yards and the Nine Feet at 176 yards.

Workings

Two shafts: No. 1 to the Five Feet at 248 yards and No. 2, the upcast, to the Nine Feet at 176 yards; furnace ventilation at first.

Closure

Production ceased about 1901; Powell Duffryn later took the pit over, possibly for pumping and ventilation.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Gadlys Colliery — Both worked by the Waynes' company; Graig was also called Gadlys Graig and shares Gadlys's plans.

Disasters & major incidents

• Graig Colliery sinking explosion, 1892
  26 February 1892 · Explosion · 1 fatality
  Late on 26 February 1892 gas that had gathered in the sinking at the Graig Pit, Aberdare, exploded at the sinkers' candles, killing the banksman John Evans and burning eleven men; the inquest found the officials had not written up their inspections.

Recorded claims

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

• The Waynes, owners of the nearby Gadlys colliery, began mining at Graig in 1834. ¹
• No. 1 shaft reached the Five Feet at 248 yards and No. 2, the upcast, the Nine Feet at 176 yards. ¹
• It employed 370 men producing steam coal in 1896. ¹
• Graig appears with Gadlys, Dare and Duffryn Dare on the district's seam plans. ²
• Production ceased about 1901. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Graig Colliery, Aberdare — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: GADLYS / DARE / GRAIG / DUFFRYN DARE (seam sections) — British Geological Survey

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