Grovesend Colliery

Overview

A pit at Grovesend near Gorseinon, sunk by the 1850s, that passed through a run of failing owners before Thomas Williams & Sons revived it in 1900-06; it employed 393 men in 1907 and was abandoned in 1925.

History

Grovesend Colliery, also called Ty Dderwen, lay about half a mile west of Brynlliw Colliery at Grovesend, near Gorseinon. Papers at the National Archives record its upcast and downcast shafts as sunk in 1851, though other accounts date the sinking to about 1870. It was in the occupation of J. Williams in 1861, when a branch railway to it was proposed and notice was given to the creditors of Jenkin Williams, its owner, and a man was killed there on 17 February 1862. Offered for sale or lease that year, it was later worked by T. L. Roberts, was at a stand in a dispute in 1868, and in 1872 was recovering from flooding under David Lloyd & Sons. The Grovesend Steam Coal Colliery Co. Ltd, registered in 1873, was wound up by the court in October 1875, the plant was auctioned in 1879, and the old workings were abandoned by April 1882.

The Tyrdderwen Colliery Co. was working at Tyrdderwen in 1898-99, probably on Grovesend ground, until December 1900. Thomas Williams & Sons then reopened and deepened the pit; coal was found in 1905, and once a water problem was overcome it employed 393 men in 1907. The manager, Thomas Thomas, was killed in 1905 when he fell 39 feet down the air shaft, and a gas explosion in 1912 killed the trammer Charles Nock and injured two others. There were 245 men underground in 1918 under J. Beynon, but work declined from 1921, and the pit was abandoned on 1 June 1925, after working the Upper, Middle and Lower Grovesend and Four-Feet seams.

Geology

The Upper, Middle and Lower Grovesend and Four-Feet seams, producing steam and manufacturing coals.

Workings

Two pits about half a mile apart, No. 1 (South) and No. 2 (North); the pit was 66 yards deep and 11 ft 6 in in diameter, with an air shaft connection to the upcast at Brynlliw and a water outlet at Pentrepriscedwyn farm.

Closure

The early workings were abandoned by April 1882 and Tyrdderwen's in December 1900; the colliery stopped production in 1925 and was abandoned on 1 June 1925, and was listed as temporarily closed in 1930-34.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Brynlliw Colliery — Grovesend had an air shaft connection to the upcast at Brynlliw, and the two share a 1925 abandonment plan.

What's uncertain

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

• It was sunk around 1870 by the Grovesend Colliery Company. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Its upcast and downcast shafts were sunk in 1851. ¹
• It was sunk around 1870 by the Grovesend Colliery Company. (disputed) ¹
• The Grovesend Steam Coal Colliery Co. Ltd, registered in 1873, was wound up by the court on 26 October 1875. ¹
• The Upper Grovesend workings were abandoned by 1882. ^1,2
• The Tyrdderwen (Grovesend No. 2) working of the Upper Grovesend was abandoned in December 1900. ^1,3
• Under Thomas Williams & Sons it employed 393 men in 1907. ¹
• The colliery was abandoned on 1 June 1925. ^1,4
• The manager Thomas Thomas was killed in 1905 and the trammer Charles Nock in a gas explosion in 1912, in which two others were injured. ^1,5

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Brynlliw Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: GROVESEND, Upper Grovesend seam, abandoned 1882 — British Geological Survey
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: GROVESEND OR TYDDERWEN NO 2, Upper Grovesend seam, abandoned 1900 — British Geological Survey
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: GROVESEND / BRYNLLIW / PENTWYN, Upper and Lower Grovesend and Four Feet seams, abandoned 1925 — British Geological Survey
5. (secondary) NMRS coal mining accidents and deaths database: Coytrahén Park, Tondu — Northern Mine Research Society

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