Tylorstown Colliery

Overview

A group of pits a mile down-valley from Ferndale, originally sunk by a separate company and given their own village's name, later linked underground and in ownership with the Ferndale complex — and struck, in January 1896, by an explosion that killed 57 men and boys.

History

Alfred Tylor's company sank Tylorstown's original Pendyrys pits, Nos. 6 and 7, between 1873 and 1876, about a mile down the Rhondda Fach from Ferndale's own pits; a nearby shaft, No.8 (Cynllwyn Du), had been sunk even earlier, in 1858. In January 1894 David Davis and Sons Ltd, the Ferndale colliery company, acquired the Tylorstown pits from A. Tylor and Company, deepening No.8 to 606 yards in 1892 — then the deepest shaft in the Rhondda Valleys — and linking the previously separate workings into a single operational unit with Ferndale itself, the combined pits also becoming known as Ferndale Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9. By 1892 the linked pits employed over 1,700 men producing 1,800 tons of high-grade steam coal a day; the workforce grew to 2,912 by 1908 and 3,800 by 1918. On 28 January 1896, an explosion swept through Nos. 6, 7 and 8 pits, killing 57 men and boys as the day shift descended (see Disasters, below). The colliery continued working for decades afterward, passing with the rest of the Ferndale complex to Powell Duffryn and then, on the 1947 nationalisation of the coal industry, to the National Coal Board. Nos. 6, 7 and 8 closed in 1936; a later shaft, No.9, added in 1907 to work the Yard seam at 550 yards, continued until 1960.

Geology

Tylorstown's pits worked the Five Feet, Gellideg, Two Feet Nine, Four Feet, Six Feet and Bute seams, alongside ironstone deposits; No.8 (Cynllwyn Du) was deepened to 606 yards in 1892, then the deepest shaft in the Rhondda Valleys, a record it shared with the wider linked Ferndale complex it had become part of.

Workings

No.6 and No.7 (Pendyrys) were sunk 1873-76; No.8 (Cynllwyn Du), originally sunk in 1858, was deepened to 606 yards in 1892 when David Davis and Sons linked the Tylorstown pits underground with Ferndale's own workings; No.9, added in 1907, reached the Yard seam at 550 yards.

Closure

Nos. 6, 7 and 8 ceased production in 1936; No.9, the last of Tylorstown's shafts, closed in 1960.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Disasters & major incidents

• Tylorstown Colliery explosion, 1896
  28 January 1896 · Explosion · 57 fatalities
  An explosion swept Tylorstown's Nos. 6, 7 and 8 pits as the day shift descended on 28 January 1896, killing 57 men and boys, after a delayed shot fired into a gas-charged road ignited firedamp and coal dust through the dry workings.

Recorded claims

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

• Alfred Tylor's company sank Tylorstown's No.6 and No.7 pits between 1873 and 1876, with a separate shaft, No.8 (Cynllwyn Du), sunk in 1858; David Davis and Sons Ltd, owners of Ferndale, acquired the pits in January 1894 and deepened No.8 to 606 yards in 1892, linking the workings underground with Ferndale's own. ¹
• By 1892 the linked pits employed over 1,700 men producing 1,800 tons of steam coal a day, growing to 2,912 men by 1908 and 3,800 by 1918; the combined complex was also known as Ferndale Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9. ¹
• No.9 shaft, added in 1907, reached the Yard seam at 550 yards; Nos. 6, 7 and 8 closed in 1936, with No.9 continuing until 1960. ¹
• On 28 January 1896 an explosion swept Nos. 6, 7 and 8 pits as the day shift descended, killing 57 men and boys. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Tylorstown Colliery — welshcoalmines.co.uk
2. (secondary) Tylorstown Colliery Disaster, 28th January 1896 — Durham Mining Museum

Record created: 27 August 2026 · Last researched: 27 August 2026