Panteg Colliery

Overview

Baldwins' coal level at Pontypool, also called Pontypool Colliery, which worked steam coal from the Droideg seam with up to 350 men in the mid-1920s, closed in April 1926, and was worked again as Pontypool Colliery by Eastern Valleys Black Vein Collieries Ltd from 1928 until 1938.

History

Panteg Colliery was a coal level at Pontypool owned by Baldwins Limited, the firm that also owned the Panteg steelworks. It was also called Pontypool. One account gives its listings as 1915 to 1927; another has it first appearing in the Lists in 1921. In 1923 it employed 183 men underground and 45 at the surface, with J. G. Brace as manager; another account of the same year gives 220 men producing steam coal from the Droideg seam, and Baldwins also had a Panteg Clay Level. The workforce rose to 285 in 1924 and 350 in 1925.

The colliery closed in April 1926, though it was kept as a way out for Baldwins' Albion Road Colliery, and it was abandoned the following year: abandonment plans of 1927 cover the Panteg and Albion Road workings in the Droideg, Yard and fireclay seams and the Panteg workings in the Morris seam. In 1928 'Pontypool, formerly Panteg' reappears in the Lists under Eastern Valleys Black Vein Collieries Ltd, who worked it until September 1938, when it was temporarily closed.

Geology

Steam coal from the Droideg seam; abandonment plans also record the Yard and Morris seams and fireclay.

Workings

A level, which after 1926 served as a way out for Albion Road Colliery.

Closure

Closed by Baldwins in April 1926 and abandoned in 1927; reworked as Pontypool Colliery from 1928 until it was temporarily closed in September 1938.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Eastern Valleys Black Vein Colliery — Both worked by Eastern Valleys Black Vein Collieries Ltd; Panteg as Pontypool Colliery from 1928.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• Employed 220 men in 1923, producing steam coal from the Droideg seam. (disputed) ³
• Listed from 1915. (disputed) ¹
• First listed in 1921. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• Owned by Baldwins Limited, managed by J. G. Brace, with 183 men underground and 45 at the surface in 1923. ^1,2
• Employed 220 men in 1923, producing steam coal from the Droideg seam. (disputed) ³
• Employed 285 men in 1924 and 350 in 1925. ¹
• Closed in April 1926 but used as a way out for Albion Road Colliery. ¹
• Abandonment plans of 1927 cover the Panteg workings in the Droideg, Yard, fireclay and Morris seams. ^4,5,6
• From 1928 'Pontypool, formerly Panteg' was worked by Eastern Valleys Black Vein Collieries Ltd until September 1938. ⁴
• Listed from 1915. (disputed) ¹
• First listed in 1921. (disputed) ⁴

Sources

1. (secondary) Glyn pits, Pontypool — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) Baldwins Ltd. — Durham Mining Museum
3. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Elled and Mynydd Maen — Welsh Coal Mines
4. (secondary) Plas-y-Coed Colliery (with Cwmffrwdoer and Eastern Valley Black Vein) — Welsh Coal Mines
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Panteg and Albion Road, Cwmlickey, Gorse Bush, Droideg seam (abandoned 1927) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Panteg / Beddoe Old, Morris seam (abandoned 1927) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 17 October 2026 · Last researched: 17 October 2026