Troedrhiwgwair Colliery

Overview

A level in the Brithdir seam at Troedrhiwgwair in the Sirhowy valley near Tredegar, probably opened about 1865 by the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, which grew from one man in 1900 to over 80 in the 1920s and closed in the late 1920s.

History

Troedrhiwgwair Colliery was a level driven into the Brithdir seam at Troedrhiwgwair, in the Sirhowy valley near Tredegar. It was probably opened about 1865, when the village was built, by the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. In 1900 it employed only one man, but numbers rose quickly: 32 in 1903, 69 in 1905, 63 men underground and 10 on the surface in 1907, and 67 underground and 8 on the surface in 1908, when G. E. Golding was the manager. It employed 81 in 1910, 84 in 1923 and 82 in 1927 under E. Rees.

The level was worked on the double stall method, which took out all the coal. In 1914 two men died in separate accidents: Alfred Jones, a latchman, struck by a wagon at a siding where the points lever had failed, and Matthew English, a collier, killed by a fall of roof at the face. The level closed in the late 1920s, and its Pontygwaith, or Brithdir, workings were abandoned in 1930.

Geology

The Brithdir (Pontygwaith Red Ash) seam.

Workings

A level worked on the double stall method, giving total extraction; a siding with points for its wagons at the surface.

Closure

Closed in the late 1920s; the Pontygwaith (Brithdir) workings were abandoned in 1930.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Recorded claims

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

• Probably opened about 1865, when the village was built, by the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company. ¹
• It employed one man in 1900, 75 in 1908 and 84 in 1923. ¹
• It was worked on the double stall method, which gave total extraction. ¹
• Alfred Jones, a latchman, and Matthew English, a collier, were killed in separate accidents in 1914. ^2,3
• The level belonged to the Tredegar Iron & Coal Co. Ltd in 1914. ^2,3
• The Pontygwaith (Brithdir) workings were abandoned in 1930. ⁴

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Troedrhiwgwair — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Matthew English, Troedrhiwgwair Level, Tredegar, 26 August 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (secondary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Alfred Jones, Troedrhiwgwair Level, Tredegar, 2 April 1914 — Northern Mine Research Society
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: TROEDRHIWGWAIR, Pontygwaith (Brithdir) seam, abandoned 1930 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 10 October 2026 · Last researched: 10 October 2026