South Duffryn Colliery

Overview

A colliery at Pentrebach opened in 1862 by the Hill family's Plymouth ironworks company, two shafts of 250 metres working steam coal with timber headframes to the end, employing some 1,300 at its height and, in November 1940, the last of the Plymouth collieries to stop.

History

South Duffryn Colliery stood on the south side of Pentrebach, between the village and Troedyrhiw, on the east bank of the Taff. It was opened in 1862 by Hill's Plymouth Company — the Hill family had owned the Plymouth Ironworks since 1786, Anthony Hill having taken over the business in 1818 — with two shafts 250 metres deep, and it was served by the Taff Vale Railway and the Penydarren Tramroad. At the height of production some 1,300 men worked there. The returns show it as the largest of the company's pits. In 1894 South Duffryn Nos. 1 and 2 employed 864 men underground and 131 at the surface under the manager William Johnson, out of 2,346 across all Hill's Plymouth workings; by 1896, under William Williams Green, the two pits held 938 and 134 of a company total of 1,918, with a separate South Duffryn Level working eight men besides. By 1900 the returns list No. 1 and No. 2 separately. The ironworks that gave the colliery its name closed in 1882, and the coal outlived it by nearly sixty years. The Hill's Plymouth company employed 3,000 miners in 1907. It was bought out in 1927 by Dr Llewellyn, who formed Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited; that firm employed 1,780 men in 1935 and raised half a million tons from seven collieries, and its workings later passed to Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries. South Duffryn was the last of the Plymouth collieries to work, and was closed as a production unit in November 1940. Its headframes were timber to the end, when most of the coalfield had long gone over to steel.

Geology

Worked the steam-coal seams of the Merthyr district. The seams being worked in 1923 were the Upper Four Feet, the Upper Two Foot Nine, the Nine Feet, the Six Feet, the Hafod and the Red Vein.

Workings

Two shafts, Nos. 1 and 2, 270 yards deep, with timber headframes, and a South Duffryn Level returned separately from the 1890s. Ventilation was by furnace until the 1870s, after which North Duffryn's No. 2 (South) Pit served as the upcast shaft. The colliery was served by the Taff Vale Railway and the Penydarren Tramroad; North Duffryn, close by, was a balance pit with a Waddle fan.

Closure

South Duffryn was the last of the Plymouth collieries still at work and was closed as a production unit in November 1940, the workings having passed from Hill's Plymouth Company to Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited in 1927 and afterwards to Powell Duffryn Associated Collieries.

What remains

Built over. A Linde factory occupies the site where the colliery stood, on the south side of Pentrebach.

Nothing of the colliery above ground. The ground it stood on has been taken for industrial use.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Graig Colliery, Pentrebach — Both Plymouth-Ironworks collieries at Pentrebach.

Nearby mines

• Gethin Colliery — 1.2 km W
• Graig Colliery, Pentrebach — 1.2 km N
• Ffos-y-Fran — 1.5 km N
• Perthyglisson Colliery — 1.6 km S
• Merthyr Vale Colliery — 3.3 km SE, Rhondda Cynon Taf

Straight-line distance, within 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.

• South Duffryn Colliery was opened in 1862 by the Hill brothers of the Plymouth Ironworks. ¹
• Its two shafts were 270 yards deep, wound by timber headframes that it kept until closure. ¹
• Worked by Hill's Plymouth Company, it passed to Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited in 1927 and to Powell Duffryn in 1935. ¹
• Production ceased in 1940, though pumping continued to protect the neighbouring Merthyr Vale Colliery until 1968. ¹
• The workings are recorded in the mine-plans catalogue of the British Geological Survey. ²
• The colliery was opened in 1862 on the south side of Pentrebach with two shafts 250 metres (820 ft) deep, and at the height of production employed some 1,300 men. ³
• Hill's Plymouth Company's returns for 1894 give South Duffryn Nos. 1 and 2 Pits 864 men underground and 131 above, under the manager William Johnson, out of 2,346 across all the company's workings; in 1896 the figures were 938 and 134 under William Williams Green, with a separate South Duffryn Level working eight men. ⁴
• The Hill's Plymouth company was bought out in 1927 by Dr Llewellyn, who formed Llewellyn (Plymouth) Limited; it employed 1,780 men in 1935 and produced 500,000 tons from seven collieries. South Duffryn was the last of the collieries to work and was closed as a production unit in November 1940. ⁵
• A Linde factory stands on the site where the South Duffryn Colliery was located. ³
• Ventilation was by furnace until the 1870s, after which the North Duffryn No. 2 (South) Pit was used as this colliery's upcast shaft. The seams being worked in 1923 were the Upper Four Feet, Upper Two Foot Nine, Nine Feet, Six Feet, Hafod and Red Vein. ¹
• In October 1940 South and North Duffryn together employed 470 men, against 3,000 at their peak, and South Duffryn ceased production soon afterwards. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) South Duffryn Colliery (Welsh Coal Mines) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (primary) South Duffryn abandonment plans (BGS mine-plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey
3. (secondary) Pentrebach — Wikipedia
4. (primary) Hill's Plymouth Co., Ltd. — collieries owned and employment returns — Durham Mining Museum
5. (secondary) Plymouth Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 23 September 2026