Hafodyrynys Colliery

Overview

A South Wales valleys colliery first recorded in the late 1870s, substantially rebuilt with £5.5 million of National Coal Board investment in the 1950s in a strikingly modern, Bauhaus-influenced style — its listed washery tower is now the only structure left marking the site.

History

Hafodyrynys Colliery's earliest documented record appears in the List of Mines for 1878-80, after which it goes unmentioned until a new shaft was sunk in 1911; the colliery worked continuously from 1914 to 1966. During the 1950s the National Coal Board invested £5.5 million redeveloping the site, building new drifts connecting Hafodyrynys underground to the Glyntillery drift and Tirpentwys Colliery, with the nearby Glyn Pits retained for pumping and ventilation rather than coal production. The new colliery buildings and washery from this redevelopment were designed in a strikingly modern style, influenced by the pre-war functionalist collieries built in Germany by the Bauhaus architect Peter Behrens. Hafodyrynys itself closed in 1966, though its washery continued processing coal brought in from elsewhere for some years afterward; once Glyntillery ceased production in 1975, coal that had been routed through the Hafodyrynys washery was instead wound through Abertillery Colliery from 1977. The rest of the site was cleared in 1985, but the washery's circular slimes settling tank was retained at the request of the landowner, Sir Richard Hanbury-Tenison, and survives today as a listed structure marking where the colliery once stood.

Geology

Coal of the South Wales field; the seams worked are not recorded.

Workings

Reached via a shaft sunk in 1911, later connected underground to the Glyntillery drift and Tirpentwys Colliery as part of a £5.5 million 1950s NCB redevelopment; the nearby Glyn Pits served the site for pumping and ventilation only.

Closure

Closed in 1966, though its washery continued processing coal from other collieries until Glyntillery's 1975 closure ended that role too, after which coal was routed through Abertillery Colliery instead from 1977.

What remains

Most of the site was cleared in 1985, but the washery's circular slimes settling tank was retained at the landowner's request and survives today as a listed structure.

The listed circular slimes settling tank of the former washery is the only structure remaining on the site.

Related mines

• Glyn Pits, Pontypool — After coal winding ended the Glyn Pits shafts were kept pumping water for Hafodyrynys.
• Glyntillery Colliery — Neighbouring Glyn valley mines; Glyntillery's new drifts of 1954 were joined to Hafodyrynys New Mine and the two merged in 1959.
• Tirpentwys Colliery — Tirpentwys was kept on after its own closure to pump and ventilate the underground route by which coal from Blaenserchan was cleared to Hafodyrynys.

Disasters & major incidents

• Hafodyrynys Colliery roof fall, 1962
  6-7 May 1962 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 4 fatalities
  A fall of hundreds of tons in the main roadway of the Hafodyrynys drift mine in May 1962, at the change of shift, killed four repairers; night-shift men volunteered for the rescue parties, which worked through the night.

Recorded claims

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

• The colliery's earliest documented record appears in the List of Mines for 1878-80; a new shaft was sunk in 1911, and the colliery worked continuously from 1914 to 1966. ¹
• The National Coal Board invested £5.5 million redeveloping the colliery in the 1950s, connecting it underground to the Glyntillery drift and Tirpentwys Colliery; the new buildings and washery were designed in a modern style influenced by Bauhaus architect Peter Behrens' pre-war German collieries. ¹
• Most of the site was cleared in 1985, but the washery's circular slimes settling tank was retained at landowner Sir Richard Hanbury-Tenison's request and survives today as a listed structure. ^1,2

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Hafodyrynys — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
2. (primary) Hafodyrynys Colliery Washery — Coflein — Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (Coflein)

Record created: 2 September 2026 · Last researched: 2 September 2026