Hendy Merthyr Colliery

Overview

Drift mines at the head of the River Clydach near Craig Cefn Parc, opened by Thomas Richard in the Graigola seam in 1927 and extended by the Hendy Merthyr Colliery Company with the Tylwydyn drifts; narrow-gauge steam locomotives served the workings. The last mine to carry the name closed on 11 November 1960.

History

Thomas Richard opened a slant in the Graigola seam at the top end of the River Clydach, near Craig Cefn Parc, in 1927, calling it Hendy. He renamed it Hendy Merthyr in 1930, and registered the Hendy Merthyr Colliery Company in 1932. In 1936 the company opened three more drifts lower down the valley, known as Tylwydyn, also in the Graigola. Its trams were hauled by narrow-gauge steam locomotives between the screens and the workings up the river in the Graigola and the Maesmelyn seams.

In 1938 Hendy Merthyr employed 196 men, 62 of them on the surface, producing steam coal from the Graigola, and Tylwydyn had 23. By 1945 the two had 88 and 38 men. A Tylwydyn Maesmelyn mine was started late in 1940 in the Upper Maesmelyn seam and merged with Maesmelyn in 1947, its peak year with 67 men; it was recorded as abandoned in October 1949. Hendy Merthyr itself closed late in 1949.

The name carried on. The Cathelyd drift, opened about June 1946 in the Graigola, was renamed Hendy Merthyr about 1953. It employed 198 men in 1954 and closed on 11 November 1960 with 49.

Geology

The Graigola seam, with the Upper Maesmelyn worked from the Tylwydyn drifts.

Workings

Two slants at Hendy Merthyr, three Tylwydyn drifts lower down the valley from 1936, and Maesmelyn adits, served by a narrow-gauge railway worked by steam locomotives; later the Cathelyd drift, renamed Hendy Merthyr.

Closure

The original Hendy Merthyr closed late in 1949 and Maesmelyn the same year; the renamed Cathelyd drift closed on 11 November 1960 with 49 men.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Thomas Richard opened the slant in the Graigola seam in 1927 as Hendy, renaming it Hendy Merthyr in 1930. ¹
• The company opened three drifts known as Tylwydyn lower down the valley in 1936. ¹
• Its trams were hauled by narrow-gauge steam locomotives. ¹
• In 1938 Hendy Merthyr employed 196 men and Tylwydyn 23. ¹
• The Hendy Merthyr, Tylwydyn and Moody workings in the Upper Maesmelyn were abandoned on 14 November 1960. ²
• The last Hendy Merthyr, the renamed Cathelyd drift, closed on 11 November 1960 with 49 men. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Hendy Merthyr, Tylwydyn and Maesmelyn — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: HENDY MERTHYR, TYLLWYDYN, MOODY (Upper Maesmelyn), abandoned 14 November 1960 — British Geological Survey

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