Whitworth Colliery (Tredegar)

Overview

A Tredegar Iron and Coal Company pit and drift sunk in 1876 just north of Ty Trist, worked for prime coking and steam coal until the company stopped it in 1921, after which its shafts served Ty Trist.

History

Whitworth Colliery was sunk in 1876 by the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company about 100 yards north of Ty Trist Colliery, Tredegar. It had two shafts, given as 100 and 182 yards deep, and from 1880 a drift at the same place, driven north into the old No. 8 pit workings in the Elled and Big seams. H. Jones managed it in 1878 and W. H. Routledge managed both pit and drift in 1888 and 1896.

In 1896 the drift employed 253 men and the pits 498, working the Elled, Big Vein and Yard seams in the drift and the Old Coal, Bydelog and Little Yard in the pits. Its coals were classed as prime coking coals. The company's 1912 prospectus said Whitworth was losing money because of the high cost of working, though the Elled seam had lately proved good. Under G. E. Golding it employed 800 men in 1913.

Three drift men were killed by a fall of coal in January 1880, and in 1914 the under-manager, an overman and a fireman were suffocated in old workings (see Disasters, below). Manpower fell to 251 in 1916 and about 220 by 1918-19, when coal and ironstone came from the Polka, Rhas Las and Big Vein. In July 1921, in the trade recession, the company stopped Whitworth permanently. It had been linked underground with Ty Trist and worked with it; both shafts were kept for ventilation, and Whitworth was absorbed into Ty Trist, which closed in 1959.

Geology

Coal Measures of the South Wales Coalfield. The drift worked the Elled, Big Vein and Yard seams; the pits worked the Old Coal, Bydelog (Black Vein) and Little Yard, and by 1918 the Polka, Rhas Las and Big Vein, with ironstone. The No. 2 pit passed the Elled (48 in), Big Vein (34 in), Yard (39 in), Engine Coal (28 in), Three-quarter (19 in), Bydelog (28 in) and Meadow Vein (29 in).

Workings

Two shafts (No. 1 and No. 2) and, from 1880, a drift driven north into the workings of the old No. 8 pit and joined to the Forge level; later linked underground with Ty Trist and worked as one unit.

Closure

Stopped permanently in July 1921, when the trade recession forced the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company to close it; both shafts were kept for ventilation and the colliery was absorbed into Ty Trist, which closed in 1959. The drift is said to have closed around 1900.

What remains

Tredegar Comprehensive School occupies the site.

Redevelopment

Tredegar Comprehensive School occupies the site.

Related mines

• Ty Trist Colliery — Whitworth lay 100 yards north of Ty Trist, was linked to it underground, worked with it as one unit and was absorbed into it.

Disasters & major incidents

• Whitworth Colliery (Tredegar) fall of coal, 1880
  17 January 1880 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 3 fatalities
  Two colliers and a boy of fourteen were killed by a fall of coal in the Whitworth Drift at Tredegar on 17 January 1880, although the coal had been spragged.
• Whitworth Colliery (Tredegar) suffocation, 1914
  21 February 1914 · Gas / Asphyxiation · 3 fatalities
  The under-manager, an overman and a fireman of Whitworth Colliery, Tredegar, were suffocated together in old workings on 21 February 1914, two of them apparently going to help the third.

What's uncertain

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

• The No. 2 shaft was 182 yards deep and the No. 1 shaft 100 yards. (uncertain) ¹
• The No. 2 pit was sunk to a depth of 337 feet 10 inches. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Sunk in 1876 by the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company about 100 yards north of Ty Trist Colliery. ^1,2
• A drift at the same place began producing coal in 1880 and worked the Elled, Big and Yard seams. ^1,2
• In 1896 the drift employed 224 men below ground and 29 on the surface, and the pits 442 below and 56 above. ²
• The Inspector of Mines list for 1896 gives Whitworth Pit and Drift a total workforce of 751. ¹
• The No. 2 shaft was 182 yards deep and the No. 1 shaft 100 yards. (uncertain) ¹
• The No. 2 pit was sunk to a depth of 337 feet 10 inches. (uncertain) ²
• In 1913 the colliery was managed by G. E. Golding and employed 800 men. ²
• In July 1921 the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company stopped Whitworth permanently because of the trade recession. ^1,2
• Linked underground with Ty Trist and worked with it; both shafts were kept for ventilation. ^1,2
• Tredegar Comprehensive School occupies the site. ¹
• An abandonment plan of the Ty Trist, Bedwellty, McLaren and Whitworth workings in the Rhas Las seam is held in the national mine plans collection. ³

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Whitworth Colliery, Tredegar — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Whitworth Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: Ty Trist, Bedwellty, McLaren, Whitworth (Rhas Las seam) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 8 October 2026 · Last researched: 8 October 2026