Rhos Amman Colliery

Overview

A small anthracite pit near Brynamman, opened in the mid-nineteenth century and worked by the Rhos Amman companies. In January 1924 an explosion in a cabin by the new drift killed seven men, four of them from one family; a memorial stands on the recreation ground that replaced the colliery.

History

Rhos Amman Colliery lay near Brynamman in the upper Amman Valley, halfway between Brynamman and Cwmllynfell and west of the Cwm Llynfell fault, where the outcrops of the Lower and Middle Veins of anthracite were worked; its shaft passed through the Little Brass Vein to reach the Middle Vein at 25 to 30 yards and the Lower Vein at 35 to 40 yards. It opened in the mid-nineteenth century and was able to expand once the Swansea Vale Railway arrived in 1864. The Rhos Amman Coal Company owned it in 1876 and the Rhos Amman Colliery Company Limited in the early twentieth century; it employed 82 men in 1913, 129 in 1918 and 110 in 1923 under the manager R. E. Rees, and a strike closed it for some months in 1922. The old colliery had lately been abandoned and a new slant was being driven when, at about 11.30pm on 4 January 1924, explosives blew up in a small tin cabin near the drift mouth as the shifts changed, killing seven men, four of them of one family; it was thought they had been thawing gelignite, or gunpowder by another account, at an open fire. A memorial to them stands on the recreation ground that now occupies the site.

Geology

Anthracite of the western South Wales coalfield, west of the Cwm Llynfell fault: the Lower Vein, Middle Vein and Little Brass Vein.

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

Workings

A shallow shaft through the Little Brass Vein to the Middle Vein at 25-30 yards and the Lower Vein at 35-40 yards, and outcrop workings; in 1924 a new slant (drift) was being driven, with a tin cabin for the men near its mouth.

Closure

The old colliery had recently been abandoned by January 1924, when a new slant was being driven by a contractor; when working at the site finally ended is not recorded. The site is now a recreation ground.

What remains

The colliery site is a recreation ground, on which stands a memorial to the seven men killed in 1924.

Unknown.

Nearby mines

• Cwmteg Colliery — 0.9 km W, Neath Port Talbot
• Ynysamman Colliery — 2.0 km W
• Brynamman Colliery — 2.7 km W
• Cwmllynfell Colliery — 2.7 km SE, Neath Port Talbot
• Gwaun Cae Gurwen Colliery — 2.9 km SW, Neath Port Talbot

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

People

• R. E. Rees · manager, 1918–1923 — Manager in 1918 and 1923.

What's uncertain

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

• On 4 January 1924 an explosion killed seven men resting between shifts in a hut where there was gelignite and an open fire; a memorial stands on the recreation ground that now occupies the site. (disputed) ¹
• The seven were killed at 11.30pm in a tin cabin near the mouth of a new slant being driven after the old colliery was abandoned; 10 lb of gunpowder was in the cabin and may have been thawed at the fire. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• The Rhos-amman Colliery shaft passed through the Little Brass Vein to the Middle Vein at 25-30 yards and the Lower Vein at 35-40 yards; the colliery opened in the mid-19th century and expanded after the Swansea Vale Railway came in 1864. ¹
• The Rhos Amman Coal Co. owned it in 1876 and the Rhos Amman Colliery Company Limited in the early 20th century; 82 men were employed in 1913, and a strike closed it for some months in 1922. ¹
• On 4 January 1924 an explosion killed seven men resting between shifts in a hut where there was gelignite and an open fire; a memorial stands on the recreation ground that now occupies the site. (disputed) ¹
• The seven were killed at 11.30pm in a tin cabin near the mouth of a new slant being driven after the old colliery was abandoned; 10 lb of gunpowder was in the cabin and may have been thawed at the fire. (disputed) ²
• A memorial notice records the seven miners who lost their lives at Rhosaman/Brynamman in 1924: T. T. Jones, Ioan Jones, Glyn Thomas, James T. Davies, W. H. Davies, George Hughes and W. T. Jones. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Gelliceidrim Colliery page (Rhos Amman Colliery section) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Welsh coal mine fatalities, 1924 — Welsh Coal Mines
3. (secondary) History of Coal Mining in the Amman Valley, Carmarthenshire — GENUKI
4. (primary) Rhosamman (Mining Remediation Authority abandonment plan, via BGS catalogue item 21902503) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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