MineArchiveRhos Colliery
| Location | Pantyffynnon, near Ammanford, Amman Valley, Carmarthenshire — 51.7851, -4.0289 (exact) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | By 1865–1938 |
| Maximum depth | 384 feet (upcast shaft, 1890s) |
| Operators | Rhos Colliery Company (1882–1925), United Anthracite Collieries Limited (1925–1926), Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Ltd (1926–1938) |
Overview
An anthracite colliery at Pantyffynnon near Ammanford, worked from the 1860s by the Rhos Colliery Company and its successors, run with neighbouring Wernos in the early 1930s, and closed in 1938.
History
Rhos Colliery was an anthracite pit at Pantyffynnon in the Amman Valley, just under a mile from Wernos Colliery. Crawley and Company worked it in 1865, and by 1882 it belonged to the Rhos Colliery Company, working the Stanllyd and Grassisa seams. In the 1890s the No. 2 Pit, an elliptical downcast shaft 15 feet by 8 and 324 feet deep, worked the Stanllyd by longwall with safety lamps, and the 384-foot upcast shaft worked the Grassisa; a 20-foot Waddle fan ventilated the mine. In 1896 it employed 319 men. The Rhos Colliery Company reopened neighbouring Wernos in 1908. Lewis Jenkins managed Rhos from 1905 to 1920, and the workforce reached 280 in 1915-16. New Rhos Anthracite Collieries came under United Anthracite in 1925 and Amalgamated Anthracite in 1926; from 1929 Rhos and Wernos were returned together, with 770 men in 1931-33. Rhos itself still employed 300 in 1938, the year it closed. An opencast site of the same name was later worked in the Amman Valley.
Geology
Anthracite measures of the Amman Valley: the Stanllyd and Grassisa seams.
Workings
Two shafts in the 1890s: the No. 2 Pit, an elliptical downcast 15 by 8 feet and 324 feet deep, working the Stanllyd by longwall, and an upcast 384 feet deep working the Grassisa; ventilated by a 20-foot Waddle fan.
Closure
Closed in 1938.
What remains
Unknown.
Redevelopment
Unknown.
Related mines
- Wernos Colliery — The Rhos Colliery Company reopened Wernos in 1908, and the two were worked and returned together in 1929-33 (NMRS).
Nearby mines
- Park and Blaina Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.4 km) NE
- Blaenau Saron Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) N
- Pontyclerc Colliery — 1.2 miles (1.9 km) E
- Pantyffynnon Colliery — 1.2 miles (2.0 km) E
- Wernos Colliery — 1.4 miles (2.3 km) NE
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.
- Crawley and Company worked Rhos Colliery in 1865, and the Rhos Colliery Company by 1882. 1
- In the 1890s the downcast No. 2 Pit was 324 feet deep and the upcast 384 feet, ventilated by a 20-foot Waddle fan. 1
- It employed 319 men in 1896. 1
- A collier was killed by a fall of roof at the rippings at Rhos Colliery, Ammanford, in 1891. 2
- Rhos Colliery was working at Tycroes, Ammanford, in 1931. 3
- Rhos Colliery closed in 1938. 1
Sources
- (secondary) Rhos Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: fatalities, 1891 — Welsh Coal Mines
- (secondary) Welsh mining fatalities, 1931 — Welsh Coal Mines
Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026