New Wernddu Colliery

Overview

A drift mine in the Dyffryn Clydach area north of Neath that grew from 36 men in 1905 to several hundred in the early 1920s, working the Graigola seam for house and manufacturing coal. It passed from the Wernddu Railway and Colliery Company of Pontardawe to the Main Colliery Company, and its sources disagree on whether it closed in 1922 or in 1929.

History

New Wernddu was a drift mine, a later working distinct from the older Wernddu Colliery, which was at work by 1860 under Parsons and later Morgans & Lewis, and was held by W. Gilbertson in 1869-84. The new drift employed 36 men in 1905 and 103 in 1912. In 1913 it was listed under the Wernddu Railway and Colliery Company Limited of Pontardawe, with 82 men. J. Lewis managed it in 1916, when it employed 140. In 1918 Thomas Mayberry was manager, with 140 men underground and 34 at the surface; he was still in charge in 1919 (105 men) and 1920 (270 men). In 1921 it was producing house and manufacturing coals from the Graigola seam, about 67 inches thick here. One Northern Mine Research Society listing gives 582 men in 1922 and closure in October that year. Another, fuller listing records 326 men in 1923 and, by 1927, ownership by the Main Colliery Company, with 350 men under the manager J. C. Binks, and says the mine probably closed in January 1929, when the Graigola and Victoria seams were abandoned. The two accounts have not been reconciled.

Geology

Worked the Graigola seam, about 67 inches thick at the mine in 1921, and the Victoria seam, both abandoned in January 1929 according to one listing; coal of the western South Wales Coalfield.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (historical documentary reference)

Workings

A drift (an inclined tunnel driven into the seam from the surface) rather than a shaft mine. No plan, length or layout of the workings has been found.

Closure

One NMRS listing gives closure in October 1922. The fuller NMRS listing records the mine still at work in 1923 and 1927 and says it probably closed in January 1929, when the Graigola and Victoria seams were abandoned. No reason for closure is given. A Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plan covering Wernddu, New Wernddu and Bryn Dewi gives a third date, January 1927.

What remains

Unknown.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Cwrt Herbert Colliery — Both owned by the Main Colliery Company, and both abandoned the Graigola and Victoria seams in January 1929.
• Dyffryn Main Colliery — Both worked by the Main Colliery Company in the Dyffryn Clydach area north of Neath.

Nearby mines

• Dyffryn Main Colliery — 0.7 km SE
• Primrose Colliery — 2.4 km N
• Tynywain Colliery — 3.2 km W
• Cwmclydach Graigola Colliery — 3.4 km W
• Cwmnantllwyd Colliery — 3.4 km N

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.

• Coflein records New Wernddu Colliery as a post-medieval coal mine at SN 73280 00720, in Dyffryn Clydach community, Neath Port Talbot (old county Glamorgan). ¹
• NMRS lists New Wernddu under 'Clydach, Swansea Valley'; Coflein's grid reference places it in the Dyffryn Clydach area north of Neath instead. (disputed) ^2,3,1
• New Wernddu Colliery was a drift mine. ³
• In 1913 the mine was listed as owned by the Wernddu Railway and Colliery Company Limited of Pontardawe and employed 82 men. ³
• The colliery employed 36 men in 1905 and 103 in 1912. ²
• Manager J. Lewis in 1916 (140 men); Thomas Mayberry in 1918 (140 underground, 34 surface), 1919 (105) and 1920 (270); 326 men in 1923. ³
• In 1921 it produced house and manufacturing coals from the Graigola seam, about 67 inches thick. ³
• In 1927 the Main Colliery Company owned the mine, employing 350 men with J. C. Binks as manager. ³
• The colliery employed 582 men in 1922 and closed in October 1922. (disputed) ²
• It probably closed in January 1929, when it abandoned the Graigola and Victoria seams. (disputed) ³
• A Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plan (SWR3766) titled 'New Wernddu/Bryn Dewi Level' records the Graigola seam. ⁴
• A Mining Remediation Authority plan (R12055) for 'Wernddu and Wernddu New / Bryn Dewi' in the Four Feet (Victoria) (Ty Edmund) and Graigola seams is dated to abandonment in January 1927, a third date beside NMRS's October 1922 and January 1929. (disputed) ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) New Wernddu Colliery (NPRN 80603) — Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (Coflein)
2. (primary) Small collieries in the Pontardawe area — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) Small collieries in the Pontardawe area worked under NCB licence (Wernddu Colliery entry) — Northern Mine Research Society (information from Ray Lawrence)
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: NEW WERNDDU/BRYN DEWI LEVEL — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: WERNDDU AND WERNDDU NEW /BRYN DEWI — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) Wernddu Colliery (NPRN 80601) — Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (Coflein)

Record created: 15 September 2026 · Last researched: 16 September 2026