Old Castle Colliery

Overview

Llanelli's largest colliery complex of the mid-19th century, begun by General George Warde about 1810-11 and later worked with the Bres pit by the Llanelly Copperworks Company. Six men drowned when old Bres workings broke in during 1862; the complex was abandoned in 1889.

History

Old Castle Colliery grew out of the Llanelli Pit that General George Warde opened at Erw Fawr, near the centre of Llanelli, in about 1810-11; he later renamed it after old ruins near the site, and Old Castle Road keeps the name. Warde sent most of his coal to London, but in 1829 his collieries passed to R. J. Nevill in settlement of a £30,000 debt, and Old Castle became the biggest mining concern in Llanelli, raising 40,000 tons in 1846; the Erw pit, 120 feet deep, was later used to drain the complex with a large steam pumping engine. The Llanelly Copperworks Company, which worked Old Castle, took in the neighbouring Bres pit, and by 1862 the collieries were the most extensive in Carmarthenshire, producing over 200,000 tons a year. The main shaft was 90 or 95 fathoms deep and worked the Bushy, Golden and Little veins. On 3 July 1862, when the colliery was the property of Willyams, Nevill and Company, water from the old Bres workings broke in and drowned six men, while sixty or more escaped by a newly sunk second shaft (see Disasters, below). It was September before the first bodies were recovered, and the 300 men and boys were moved to the company's other works. Nevill, Druce and Company held it by 1880. Worked as the 'Old Castle and Bres Collieries' across two miles of the Rosy, Fiery, Golden and Bushy seams, between the Stradey and Box faults, it was finally abandoned in May 1889.

Geology

Steam coal seams of the western South Wales coalfield at Llanelli, known locally as veins: the Rosy, Fiery, Golden, Bushy and Little, between the Stradey and Box faults.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

A main shaft of 90 fathoms (NMRS) or 95 fathoms (Welsh Coal Mines) to the Bushy seam, a shallower second shaft sunk as an emergency outlet shortly before July 1862, and the 120-foot Erw pit, later used for pumping. Workings in the Rosy, Fiery, Golden, Bushy and Little veins extended about two miles from the Stradey fault to the Box fault.

Closure

Worked with Bres as the 'Old Castle and Bres Collieries' until final abandonment in May 1889 (Llanelli Community Heritage); Welsh Coal Mines gives no closure date, and has the Erw pit disused by 1890.

Related mines

• Box Colliery — Both were General Warde's collieries, sold together to R. J. Nevill and Co. in 1829.
• Bres Colliery — Bres was incorporated into the Llanelly Copperworks Company's Old Castle complex, worked as the Old Castle and Bres Collieries; water from the old Bres workings flooded Old Castle in 1862.
• Castle Colliery, Llanelli — A different Llanelli colliery of a similar name: General Warde's Llanelli Pit at Erw Fawr, renamed Old Castle, described on the same Welsh Coal Mines page.
• Glynea Colliery — Both held by Nevill, Druce and Company of Llanelli by 1880.
• Pencoed Colliery — Both Llanelli collieries of the Sims, Willyams and Nevill partnership and later of Nevill, Druce and Company.
• St David's Colliery — Both worked by the Llanelly Copperworks Company.

Disasters & major incidents

• Old Castle Colliery inrush, 1862
  3 July 1862 · Flooding / Inundation · 6 fatalities
  On 3 July 1862 water from the old workings of the adjacent Bres colliery broke into Old Castle Colliery, Llanelli, drowning four men in the Bushy seam and two in the Golden Vein above. Sixty or more escaped up a second shaft that had been sunk only shortly before, after the Hartley disaster.

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 main shaft was some 95 fathoms deep. (disputed) ¹
• The shaft was 90 fathoms deep, and the collieries, the most extensive in Carmarthenshire, produced over 200,000 tons of coal a year. (disputed) ³

Recorded claims

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

• General Warde opened the Llanelli Pit at Erw Fawr about 1811 and later renamed it Old Castle Colliery after historical ruins near the site. ¹
• Erw pit was opened in 1810 by General Warde; in 1829 his collieries were taken over by R. J. Nevill for a £30,000 debt, and it became part of the Old Castle mine, the biggest concern in Llanelli, producing 40,000 tons in 1846. ²
• The main shaft was some 95 fathoms deep. (disputed) ¹
• The shaft was 90 fathoms deep, and the collieries, the most extensive in Carmarthenshire, produced over 200,000 tons of coal a year. (disputed) ³
• Welsh Coal Mines names the owners in 1862 as Messrs Willyams, Nevill and Co. and in 1869 as Sims, Williams, Neville and Co.; NMRS names them in 1862 as Messrs Simms, Williams, Neville and Company. ^1,3
• The Llanelly Copperworks Company incorporated Bres into its Old Castle Colliery complex, working the Rosy, Fiery, Golden and Bushy seams for almost two miles between the Stradey and Box faults, as 'Old Castle and Bres Collieries' until final abandonment in May 1889. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Castle Colliery (Old Castle section) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Erw pit, Llanelli — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) Old Castle Colliery Inrush - Llanelli - 1862 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (secondary) Bres Colliery (blue plaque) — Llanelli Community Heritage
5. (primary) Old Castle Colliery (Mining Remediation Authority plan LPL220, section, via BGS catalogue item 21892340) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 19 September 2026 · Last researched: 19 September 2026