Rheola Colliery

Overview

A drift mine near Resolven in the Vale of Neath, worked by Cory Brothers from 1896 to 1921 with up to 437 men, then reopened in 1952 as a small licensed mine that ran until 1994.

History

Rheola Colliery was in the hills near Resolven, in the Vale of Neath, and worked the No. 2 Rhondda seam. Its early history is only partly known: a Rheola mine owned by J. W. Lyons was listed from 1854 to 1859, and a Rheola Coal Co. in 1871. Cory Bros & Co. Ltd appear in 1896 and worked it until it was abandoned on 1 July 1921. At its peak, in 1904, it employed 437 men, 351 underground and 86 on the surface, at several sites: No. 1 and No. 2 Tunnels, No. 3 and No. 4 Levels and a later level to the north. These were probably the Clydach Brook Levels of Resolven Colliery, and a 1907 list calls the mine Rheola Merthyr.

The later Rheola, close to the last of the old levels, was started by D. W. Evans in 1952. The Rheola Colliery Co. Ltd took it over in 1954 and worked it for forty years; in 1960 it produced 14,152 tons with fifteen men, and in 1964 its reserves were put at 255,000 tons. A horse haulier was injured there as late as 1987. Ryan Mining Ltd took the mine over in 1994 but did not work it, and mining ceased on 29 July 1994.

Geology

The No. 2 Rhondda seam.

Workings

Drift mines: under Cory Brothers, No. 1 and No. 2 Tunnels, No. 3 and No. 4 Levels and a later level; the 1952 mine was a small licensed level.

Closure

The Cory Brothers workings were abandoned on 1 July 1921; the licensed mine ceased work on 29 July 1994.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Lyn Colliery — Neighbouring licensed levels in the No. 2 Rhondda above Resolven; Ryan Mining held both in the 1990s.

Recorded claims

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

• A Rheola mine owned by J. W. Lyons was listed from 1854 to 1859, and a Rheola Coal Co. in 1871. ¹
• Cory Bros & Co. Ltd worked it from 1896 until it was abandoned on 1 July 1921. ^1,2
• At its peak in 1904 it employed 437 men, 351 underground and 86 on the surface. ¹
• The later mine was started by D. W. Evans in 1952 and worked by the Rheola Colliery Co. Ltd from 1954. ¹
• In 1960 it produced 14,152 tons with fifteen men. ¹
• Mining ceased on 29 July 1994. ^1,3
• William Idris Lewis (1903) and Evan D. Davies (1905), colliers, were killed there; a horse haulier was injured at the licensed mine in 1987. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Glyn Castle (Glyncastle, Ffaldydre and Rheola collieries) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: RESOLVEN (RHEOLA) NO 1, 2, No. 2 Rhondda seam, abandoned 1921 — British Geological Survey
3. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: RHEOLA, No. 2 Rhondda seam, abandoned 29 July 1994 — British Geological Survey
4. (secondary) NMRS coal mining accidents and deaths database: Coytrahén Park, Tondu — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026