Hafod Van Colliery

Overview

A Six Bells level and slope colliery opened around 1851 by Thomas Phillips, working the Tillery seam for the Partridge, Jones company by the 1880s and closed in April 1928.

History

Hafod Van Colliery stood at Six Bells in the Ebbw Fach valley, west of Abertillery. It was two levels working the Tillery seam, opened by Thomas Phillips around 1851, with a balance pit connected to the colliery. After Phillips died in 1867 the owner was Thomas Phillip Price, who also owned the Durban Level, about 200 yards south-east up a steep incline. Wikipedia's account of Six Bells Colliery says that colliery was originally opened as Arael Griffin on the site of an earlier balance shaft sunk at Hafod Van in 1863 by Thomas Phillips Price.

In 1881 the works, listed as Old Hafod Van and New Hafod Van, employed 105 men. By 1885 Partridge, Jones & Co. owned it; it produced 45,349 tons in 1889 and 48,237 tons in 1894, when W. Jones managed it. In 1896 Llanhilleth Colliery, which the same company owned, stopped its house coal for a time and the company switched that production to Hafod Van.

Welsh Coal Mines records that it closed on 31 December 1908 and restarted in 1911 as the Hafod Van slope, employing 122 men in 1911 and 79 in 1912; Wikipedia gives the slope as opened in 1909 with 122 men by 1910, closed in 1914 and replaced by a New Hafod Van slope worked from 1922 to 1928. In 1923 the New Hafod Van Colliery Co. of Sixbells employed 19 men underground and one on the surface, producing house coal from the Tillery seam. The Northern Mine Research Society gives 20 men in 1923, 31 in 1924 and 10 at closure in April 1928.

Geology

The levels worked the Tillery seam, also called the Brithdir, Red Ash or Pontygwaith seam.

Workings

Two levels working the Tillery seam, with a balance pit connected to the colliery and the Durban Level about 200 yards south-east up a steep incline. A Hafod Van slope worked from 1911 (or 1909), and a New Hafod Van slope from 1922, until 1928.

Closure

The colliery closed on 31 December 1908 and was restarted in 1911 as the Hafod Van slope. The New Hafod Van Colliery Co. employed 19 men in 1923 and 10 at closure in April 1928.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Llanhilleth Colliery — In 1896 Llanhilleth's owners switched its house coal production to Hafod Van while Llanhilleth stopped for a time; both belonged to Partridge, Jones & Co.
• Six Bells Colliery — Six Bells Colliery began on the site of an earlier balance shaft at Hafod Van, and its history lists the Hafod Van slopes.

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 Hafod Van slope restarted the colliery in 1911 and employed 122 men that year and 79 in 1912. (disputed) ¹
• The Hafod Van slope was opened in 1909, employed 122 men by 1910 and closed in 1914; a New Hafod Van slope was opened in 1922 and worked until 1928. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Thomas Phillips opened Hafod Van around 1851 as two levels working the Tillery seam, with a balance pit. ¹
• After Thomas Phillips died in 1867 the owner was Thomas Phillip Price, who also owned the Durban Level. ¹
• In 1889 the colliery produced 45,349 tons of coal and in 1894 48,237 tons, under the manager W. Jones. ¹
• The colliery employed 105 men in 1881, listed as Old Hafod Van and New Hafod Van. ¹
• The colliery closed on 31 December 1908. ¹
• The Hafod Van slope restarted the colliery in 1911 and employed 122 men that year and 79 in 1912. (disputed) ¹
• The Hafod Van slope was opened in 1909, employed 122 men by 1910 and closed in 1914; a New Hafod Van slope was opened in 1922 and worked until 1928. (disputed) ²
• The New Hafod Van Colliery Co. employed 20 men in 1923, 31 in 1924 and 10 on closure in April 1928. ³
• In 1896 Llanhilleth Colliery's owners switched their house coal production to Hafod Van. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Hafod Van Colliery, Aral Level (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Six Bells Colliery — Wikipedia
3. (secondary) Small Collieries of the Ebbw Valley — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Llanhilleth Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026