Westminster Colliery

Overview

A group of pits in the Moss valley north-west of Wrexham, worked from the mid nineteenth century by the Westminster Brymbo Coal and Coke Company and reached at first by a rope-worked incline up Gwersyllt Hill and a tunnel through the ridge. Its Nos. 3 and 4 pits employed over a thousand men in 1900. The company was wound up in 1922 and the colliery closed in February 1925; much of the railway that served it is now Moss Valley Park.

History

Westminster Colliery lay about two and a half miles north-west of Wrexham in the Moss valley, and was worked as a group of pits rather than one: the returns distinguish Gwersyllt, No. 5, and Nos. 3 and 4. The earliest documentary reference found is from the London Gazette of 30 November 1860, which places the Westminster Brymbo Colliery in the hands of the Westminster Brymbo Coal and Coke Company Limited in the parish of Gresford; the Lists of Mines give the successive owners as the Westminster Coal Company, that company, and the Westminster Colliery Co. Ltd. A manager, Colin Napier, is recorded in a railway company's papers of 1862. Getting the coal away was the colliery's defining problem, because the Moss valley lies behind a ridge. The Great Western Railway's Wheatsheaf branch reached it by a rope-worked incline up Gwersyllt Hill and the 220-foot Summerhill tunnel, and carried on across the valley through the 400-foot Brymbo tunnel and a second rope-worked incline to Brymbo steelworks. In 1862 the western part of that line was replaced by an easier route from Croes Newydd Junction, and in 1873 the Great Western obtained powers for the Moss Valley branch, which opened for goods in mid-1882, joined the old line near Westminster Colliery and made the western end of the Wheatsheaf branch redundant. Passengers were carried from 1 May 1905 until 1 January 1931. In 1894 the three sets of pits between them employed nearly a thousand men, and in 1900 Nos. 3 and 4 alone had 1,055, of whom 839 worked below ground. The seams worked in 1905 were the Brassey, Crank Coal, Powell and Two Yard at No. 5 and the Brassey, Crank Coal, Main, Queen and Two Yard at Nos. 3 and 4, giving gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal. By 1923 the workforce was down to 614. The company of Westminster Colliery, Wrexham, was voluntarily wound up in March 1922, and the colliery closed in February 1925. The National Coal Board photographed the site again in 1978, when the arches and brickwork of the fan drift were uncovered.

Geology

The colliery worked the Denbighshire coalfield in the Moss valley, taking the Brassey, Crank Coal, Powell and Two Yard seams at No. 5 pit and the Brassey, Crank Coal, Main, Queen and Two Yard at Nos. 3 and 4, for gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Several separate pits, the returns naming Gwersyllt, No. 5, and Nos. 3 and 4. The colliery was originally served by the Great Western Railway's Wheatsheaf branch, which climbed Gwersyllt Hill by a rope-worked incline and passed through the 220-foot Summerhill tunnel to reach the valley, then crossed it through the 400-foot Brymbo tunnel and a second rope-worked incline; from 1882 the Moss Valley branch served it by an easier route. A ventilation fan drift was still traceable when the site was photographed in 1978.

Closure

The company of Westminster Colliery, Wrexham, was voluntarily wound up in March 1922 and the colliery closed in February 1925, the first of the Moss valley pits to go; Gatewen followed in July 1932 and Brynmally in October 1935, after which the railway beyond Gatewen was closed.

What remains

Cleared. Much of the railway that served the colliery now forms part of Moss Valley Park; the line south of Gatewen struggled on until a derailment in August 1983 from which it never reopened.

None known above ground. The arches and brickwork of the colliery's fan drift were uncovered and photographed for the National Coal Board in 1978.

Redevelopment

Moss Valley Park covers much of the railway route through the valley.

Nearby mines

• Plas Power Colliery — 1.8 km SW
• Brynmally Colliery — 2.1 km S
• Brymbo Colliery — 2.3 km SW
• Llay Main Colliery — 3.7 km NE
• Gresford Colliery — 4.2 km E

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.

• The London Gazette of 30 November 1860 records the Westminster Brymbo Colliery as belonging to the Westminster Brymbo Coal and Coke Company Limited, in the parish of Gresford, county of Denbigh. ¹
• The Lists of Mines give the owners in turn as the Westminster Coal Company, the Westminster Brymbo Coal and Coke Co. Ltd and the Westminster Colliery Co. Ltd; a manager, Colin Napier, is recorded in railway company papers of 1862. ^2,3
• In 1894 the Gwersyllt, No. 5 and Nos. 3 and 4 pits employed 230, 300 and 431 men respectively; Nos. 3 and 4 alone employed 1,055 in 1900, and the colliery was down to 614 men by 1923. ²
• In 1905 No. 5 pit worked the Brassey, Crank Coal, Powell and Two Yard seams and Nos. 3 and 4 the Brassey, Crank Coal, Main, Queen and Two Yard, producing gas, household, manufacturing and steam coal. ²
• The colliery was reached by the Great Western Railway's Wheatsheaf branch, which climbed Gwersyllt Hill by a rope-worked incline and passed through the 220-foot Summerhill tunnel into the Moss valley, continuing through the 400-foot Brymbo tunnel and a second rope-worked incline to Brymbo steelworks. ⁴
• The Moss Valley branch, authorised in 1873 and opened for goods in mid-1882, joined the older line near Westminster Colliery and made the western end of the Wheatsheaf branch redundant; passenger services ran from 1 May 1905 to 1 January 1931. ⁴
• The company of Westminster Colliery, Wrexham, was voluntarily wound up in March 1922 and the colliery closed in February 1925. ^1,4
• The National Coal Board photographed the site in 1978, recording the arches and brickwork of the fan drift where they had been uncovered. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Westminster Brymbo Coal and Coke Co (Grace's Guide, citing the London Gazette of 30 November 1860 and 14 March 1922) — Grace's Guide
2. (secondary) Durham Mining Museum: Westminster Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
3. (primary) The National Archives RAIL 767/61: Colin Napier, manager of Westminster Colliery, Wrexham, 1862 (National Archives Discovery) — The National Archives
4. (secondary) Moss Valley Branch (Wikipedia) — Wikipedia
5. (primary) The National Archives COAL 80/1031: Westminster colliery, Wrexham, photographs, 1978 (National Archives Discovery) — The National Archives

Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 9 September 2026