Tir-y-Dail Colliery

Overview

An anthracite slant at Tirydail, on the edge of Ammanford, opened in 1898 by a Swansea company into the Lower Pumpquart seam and served by sidings off the Great Western Railway's Mountain branch. It grew from 22 men in 1899 to over 500 in the 1920s, passing to Cleeve's Western Valleys Anthracite and then Amalgamated Anthracite. Local histories date its closure to 1927, after the defeat of the 1926 strike; NMRS still lists it working into the 1930s.

History

Tir-y-Dail lay between Llandebie Colliery to the west and the Park and Blaina slants to the east. The Tir-y-Dail Colliery Company of Swansea opened it in 1898 into the Lower Pumpquart seam, and its coal went out through sidings connected to the Great Western Railway's Mountain branch. It had 22 men in 1899 and grew steadily: 189 in 1908, when the company had been absorbed into Cleeve's Western Valleys Anthracite Collieries and W.J. Owen was manager, 422 in 1912, and 472 in 1919 under T. Lewis. Three men were killed by falls of stone or roof in 1913-14. In 1923 Western Valleys was taken into Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries, the combine that by 1930 was the largest anthracite company in the world, and Tir-y-Dail employed 522 men. It abandoned the Lower Pumpquart in September 1927. Ammanford's local history timeline and a Welsh Coal Mines forum history both date the closure to 1927, one of many Amman Valley pits shut after the defeat of the miners in the 1926 General Strike; NMRS, however, lists it still working the Gras Isaf and Lower Triquart seams under W. Howells in 1927-30, with 512 men in 1930, and says only that it had closed before nationalisation in 1947. The railway sidings were kept, latterly by British Anthracite, until the agreement was ended in 1963.

Geology

Anthracite: the Lower Pumpquart (Lower Gellideg), then the Gras Isaf (Lower Nine Feet) and Lower Triquart seams.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (historical documentary reference)

Workings

An anthracite slant with sidings to the GWR Mountain branch; its plans are combined with the neighbouring Pantyffynnon, Park and Blaina, Saron and Llandybie workings.

Closure

The Lower Pumpquart was abandoned in September 1927, and local histories date closure to that year after the 1926 strike. NMRS lists it working other seams in 1927-30 with 512 men in 1930, and closed before nationalisation in 1947.

What remains

Unknown; no report of surviving remains found.

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown. The sidings were retained until 1963 and the nearby tinplate works site was reportedly used as a coal sorting depot.

Related mines

• Llandebie Colliery — Neighbours: Llandebie Colliery lay to the west, and their plans are combined.
• Pontyclerc Colliery — Neighbours at Pantyffynnon; plans combined with the Pontyclerc and Pantyffynnon workings.

Nearby mines

• Wernos Colliery — 0.7 km SE
• Ammanford Colliery — 0.9 km SE
• Betws Colliery — 1.4 km E
• Bodyst Uchaf Colliery — 1.6 km E
• Pantyffynnon Colliery — 1.7 km S

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

People

• Edgar Hopkins (d. 1913) · victim, 1913 — Collier, 28, killed by a roof fall at Tir-y-Dail on 18 November 1913.
• W. Howells · manager, 1927–1930 — Manager of Tir-y-Dail in 1927-30.
• T.W. Lewis · manager, 1913–1919 — Manager of Tir-y-Dail in 1913-19.
• W.J. Owen · manager, 1908 — Manager of Tir-y-Dail in 1908.

What's uncertain

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

• Tir-y-dail Colliery closed in 1927, one of many Amman Valley collieries closed after the defeat of the 1926 General Strike. (disputed) ^2,3
• NMRS records the Lower Pumpquart abandoned in September 1927 but the colliery still working other seams in 1927-30, with 512 men in 1930, and closed before 1947. (disputed) ¹

Recorded claims

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

• Opened in 1898 to the Lower Pumpquart seam by the Tir-y-Dail Colliery Company of Swansea, later absorbed into Cleeve's Western Valleys Anthracite. ^1,2
• Manpower rose from 22 in 1899 to 422 in 1912, 472 in 1919 and 522 in 1923. ^1,2
• The colliery was connected off the GWR Mountain branch and worked from 1898 to 1927; its sidings were retained until 1963. ³
• Tir-y-dail Colliery closed in 1927, one of many Amman Valley collieries closed after the defeat of the 1926 General Strike. (disputed) ^2,3
• NMRS records the Lower Pumpquart abandoned in September 1927 but the colliery still working other seams in 1927-30, with 512 men in 1930, and closed before 1947. (disputed) ¹
• Tir-y-Dail lay west of the Park and Blaina slants, with Llandebie Colliery to its west. ^1,4
• James Jones (27) was killed by a falling stone on 27 February 1913, Edgar Hopkins (28) by a roof fall on 18 November 1913, and William Harris (54) by a roof fall on 10 January 1914. ¹
• Abandonment plans combine Tir y Dail with the Llandybie, Saron, Rhos, Wernos, Pantyffynnon and Park & Blaina workings. ^5,6

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Tir-Y-Dail Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (Ray Lawrence)
2. (secondary) Ammanford timeline — Ammanford, Carmarthenshire web site (local history)
3. (observational) Tirydail Colliery (forum thread) — Welsh Coal Mines forum
4. (secondary) Park & Blaina Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society (Ray Lawrence)
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: LLANDYBIE, JUBILEE, SARON, TY LICHAF, TIR Y DAIL, RHOS, NANTCLI, WERNOS (Lower Gellideg) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
6. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans: PANTYFFYNNON, WERNOS, PONTCLERC, SARON, PARK & BLAINA, RHOS, YSGUBOR FAWR, CILWERN, TIR Y DAIL... (Gras Isaf) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 18 September 2026