South Cambria Colliery

Overview

A drift mine at Tyn-y-coed, a mile west of Pentyrch, opened in 1894 as the Barry Llantwit Colliery and worked through a string of short-lived companies until 1914, plagued throughout by water.

History

The mine was started early in 1894 as the Barry Llantwit Colliery by the Barry Llantwit Coal, Stone & Clay Co. Ltd., on a lease dated 23 April 1894, with rock headings driven by T. Jones & Co., shaft sinkers of Aberdare. Several seams were struck and some coal brought out, but the site was abandoned in 1895 and taken over in 1896 by the South Cambria Collieries Syndicate Ltd., when 83 men were employed. Nos. 1 and 2 Drifts were followed by No. 3 Drift, partly driven in 1899, which eventually ran over 500 metres, with workings reaching some 800 metres east towards Pentyrch.

That company failed in 1900 and was followed by South Cambria Colliery & Quarry (1900) Ltd.; the most men employed in this first period was 206, in 1901. In 1902 David Griffith, a hitcher, was killed when a shackle broke and loaded trams ran back down the slant. The mine was offered at auction in February 1903, the company went into liquidation that December, and with water flooding the workings it lay idle from 1904 to 1906. Reopened in September 1907 by Montgomerie & Workman of London, it employed 196 men at its peak in 1911, when South Cambria Collieries Ltd. became the owner. They abandoned it in August 1914, though some local accounts say it was worked on and off until 1917.

Geology

The Lymog, Yard, Black, Wing, Forked, Brass and Cribbwr seams, worked through drifts.

Workings

No. 1 Drift and No. 2 Drift (the upcast), then No. 3 Drift, begun in 1899 and extended in 1907-08 to over 500 m, with workings some 800 m east towards the old Lan Colliery workings. An inclined tramway led down to sidings on the Barry Railway branch, and a slant dipped 19 inches to the yard.

Closure

Abandoned by South Cambria Collieries Ltd. in August 1914; water ingress troubled the mine throughout its life.

What remains

In 2006 the gated portals of Nos. 1 and 3 Drifts, the overgrown ruins of the fan house and the ruin of a haulage engine house survived in Tyn-y-coed woods.

Stone drift portals, the ruins of the No. 2 Drift fan house and of an overhead haulage engine house at the head of the inclined tramway.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Lan Colliery — South Cambria's No. 3 Drift workings reached to within a short distance of the western limit of Lan Colliery's old workings.

What's uncertain

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

• Some local accounts say the mine was worked on and off until 1917. (uncertain) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• The mine started early in 1894 as the Barry Llantwit Colliery under the Barry Llantwit Coal, Stone & Clay Co. Ltd., on a lease dated 23 April 1894. ¹
• The most men employed in its first period was in 1901, 172 underground and 34 on the surface; after reopening it reached 159 underground and 37 on the surface in 1911. ¹
• In 1902 a hitcher, David Griffith, was killed at South Cambria when a shackle broke and four laden trams ran back down the slant. ²
• In 1902 the owner was South Cambria Colliery & Quarry (1900) Co. ^1,2
• South Cambria Collieries Ltd. abandoned the mine in August 1914. ^1,3
• Some local accounts say the mine was worked on and off until 1917. (uncertain) ¹

Sources

1. (secondary) South Cambrian — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) NMRS Deaths & Accidents: David Griffith, South Cambria, 1902 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Cambria South Nos 1, 2 & 3 (Forked seam, abandoned 1914) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

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