MineArchiveQuarry Level
| Also known as | Wern Tillery Colliery |
|---|---|
| Location | Glyn valley, about two miles west of Pontypool, Torfaen — 51.6898, -3.0755 (approximate) |
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | c. 1912–1943 |
| Maximum depth | Unknown. |
| Operators | Blaendare Company (1912–?) |
Overview
A Blaendare Company level in the Glyn valley west of Pontypool, opened around 1912 on the Tillery house-coal seam. It employed up to 287 men in 1929, saw rioting and a police baton charge during the 1926 lockout, and was abandoned in 1943.
History
Quarry Level, also known as the Wern Tillery colliery, lay in the Glyn valley about two miles west of Pontypool, to the east of the Glyntillery level. The Blaendare Company opened it around 1912 to work the Tillery seam, the local name for the Brithdir. It employed 27 men in 1913, 103 in 1918, 20 of them on the surface, and 138 in 1923, producing manufacturing coal; the workforce reached 287 in 1929.
During the 1926 lockout the level was the scene of rioting. In a police baton charge several men were arrested and later imprisoned for some months, among them Arthur Jenkins, a miners' agent and the father of Roy Jenkins, later Lord Jenkins of Hillhead.
The Blaendare Company still owned the level in 1930, when a collier was injured by a fall of stone, and in 1934 the company's Rhiw Colbren levels and Quarry level together produced 40,000 tons of coal. Manpower had fallen to 104 by 1934. The level closed in the early 1940s and was abandoned in 1943.
Geology
The Tillery seam, the local name for the Brithdir seam of the Upper Coal Measures, worked for house and manufacturing coal.
Workings
A level driven into the Tillery seam.
Closure
Closed in the early 1940s; the level was abandoned in 1943.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Blaendare Colliery — Both worked by the Blaendare Company, which opened Quarry Level around 1912.
Nearby mines
- Glyntillery Colliery — 0.4 miles (0.6 km) SW
- Glyn Pits, Pontypool — 0.5 miles (0.9 km) E
- Tirpentwys Colliery — 0.6 miles (1.0 km) W
- Mynydd Maen Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) NE
- Cwmlucu Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) E
Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (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.
- The Blaendare Company opened the level around 1912 to work the Tillery house-coal seam. 1
- In 1923 it employed 138 men producing manufacturing coal from the Tillery seam. 1
- During the 1926 lockout it was the scene of rioting; after a police baton charge several men, among them Arthur Jenkins, were arrested and imprisoned for some months. 1
- The Blaendare Co. Ltd owned the level in 1930, when a collier was injured by a fall of stone. 2
- In 1934 the Rhiw Colbren levels and Quarry level together produced 40,000 tons of coal. 3
- The level was abandoned in 1943. 1
Photographs & further reading
The level's opening, seam, manpower from 1913 to 1939 and the 1926 lockout riot.
View sourceThe neighbouring level to the west, with an account of the Tillery (Brithdir) seam as worked in this part of Torfaen.
View sourceSources
- (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Quarry Level, near Pontypool — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Edward Pitman (injured), Quarry Level, Pontypool, 27 February 1930 — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) NMRS: Rhiw Colbren Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) NMRS: Glyntillery Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
Record created: 11 October 2026 · Last researched: 11 October 2026