Maes Marchog Colliery

Overview

A drift mine near Glyn-neath worked from at least 1743, opened as the Waen-Marchog by the industrialist Humphry Mackworth in the 1790s. Its owner gave direct testimony to the 1842 Royal Commission on child labour, and the site was still being opencast-worked as late as 1979.

History

A mine of this name was already working before 1743. Humphry Mackworth worked coal nearby at Banwen Pyrddin in 1743–4 and opened the Waen-Marchog colliery in 1791; one account gives the opening date as 1793 and the founder's name as Herbert Mackworth, but the fuller account crediting Humphry Mackworth and 1791 is followed here. The level, driven into the Nine-Feet seam (locally called the Big Vein) near its outcrop, passed around 1816 to John Penrose, remaining in his family for decades; by 1873–4 it was held by the firm of Penrose and Starbuck. The mine's owner, Richard Penrose, gave direct testimony to the 1842 Royal Commission on the employment of children in mines. He reported working a coal vein about nine feet thick some 30 fathoms below the surface, entered by level with a mainway as low as five feet six inches, ventilated by an air pit and furnace; the pit used some firedamp but had suffered no accidents, fatal or otherwise, in the previous two years. He employed 17 adults, 14 workers under 18, and one child under 13 — an air-door boy, with the rest hauliers; horses did the haulage work. By 1882 the colliery had passed to Evans & Bevan. It employed only 12 men in 1903 but grew sharply under new investment, reaching 247 men by 1907 and peaking at 330 in 1912; manpower was 320 in 1915 and 200 in 1916, under manager B. or R. Howell. By 1934 D.H. Walters was manager; the colliery does not appear in the record for 1932 or 1947. In 1979 Wimpey operated a Maes-y-Marchog opencast site on the same ground, producing 273,017 tonnes of coal with 108 men.

Geology

Worked the Nine-Feet seam, locally called the Big Vein, of the South Wales Coalfield.

Workings

A drift level entered by a mainway as low as 5ft 6in, ventilated by an air pit and furnace; horse haulage throughout its worked life.

Closure

Not listed in the record for 1932 or 1947; closed sometime after 1916, well before its ground was opencast-worked again by Wimpey in 1979.

What remains

Unknown, beyond the 1979 opencast working of the same ground.

Nearby mines

• Onllwyn Colliery — 1.4 km NW
• Elwyn Colliery — 1.7 km SW
• Rhondda Mountain Colliery — 1.9 km E
• Glyn Neath Colliery — 2.0 km E
• Aberpergwm Colliery — 2.1 km NE

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• Already working before 1743; Humphry Mackworth opened the Waen-Marchog colliery in 1791 (one account instead gives Herbert Mackworth and 1793), driving into the Nine-Feet (Big Vein) seam near its outcrop. (disputed) ^1,2
• Passed to John Penrose around 1816, remaining in his family for decades; held as Penrose and Starbuck by 1873–4. ^1,2
• Owner Richard Penrose testified to the 1842 Royal Commission that the pit worked a nine-foot vein 30 fathoms down, employing 17 adults, 14 under-18s and one under-13 (an air-door boy), with no accidents in the previous two years. ¹
• Owned by Evans & Bevan from 1882; manpower grew from 12 in 1903 to a peak of 330 in 1912, standing at 200 by 1916. ¹
• Wimpey operated a Maes-y-Marchog opencast site on the same ground in 1979, producing 273,017 tonnes of coal with 108 men. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Small Collieries at Resolven — Northern Mine Research Society
2. (secondary) Coal Mining (Vale of Neath timeline) — The Hopkin Thomas Project

Record created: 14 September 2026 · Last researched: 15 September 2026