Woodfield Colliery

Also known as	Penrhiw and Woodfield Colliery, Woodfield Level
Location	Penmaen, near Pontllanfraith, Caerphilly — 51.6779, -3.1837 (approximate)
Commodity	Coal
Type	Coal
Worked	1815–c. 1930
Maximum depth	Unknown.
Operators	Penmaen Colliery Ltd (?–1930), Woodfield Collieries Ltd

Overview

A level at Penmaen near Pontllanfraith, worked from 1815 and noticed by the 1842 Royal Commission, which with neighbouring Penrhiw worked the upper and lower Mynyddislwyn seams. It employed about a hundred men in 1908 and closed around 1930.

History

Evan and Lewis Lewis began working coal at Woodfield, at Penmaen near Pontllanfraith, as early as 1815; W. Baker later bought the concern. It was mentioned in the 1842 Royal Commission report on children's employment, when Thomas Protheroe was the owner and employed 64 men there. Thomas Powell was listed as owner in 1854, and later J. Powell. In 1896 it employed 91 men.

Around 1903-04 the Penrhiw and Woodfield Coal Company took over the colliery; its two levels, Penrhiw and Woodfield, worked the upper and lower Mynyddislwyn seams. Benjamin Preston Harris and George Ellwill then formed Woodfield Collieries Ltd, which owned it in 1908 with 101 men. A display of large lump coal from Woodfield Colliery won first prize at the Newport Carnival in 1909. Later Penmaen Colliery Ltd ran it, with 21 men in 1918 and 16 in 1923, and it closed around 1930.

Geology

The upper and lower Mynyddislwyn seams.

Workings

Levels: Woodfield, worked with the neighbouring Penrhiw level from about 1903.

Closure

Run down to 16 men by 1923 and closed around 1930.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Nearby mines

Oakdale Colliery — 0.3 miles (0.4 km) NE
Islwyn Level — 0.6 miles (0.9 km) N
Gwrhay Colliery — 0.7 miles (1.1 km) N
Rock Colliery, Blackwood — 0.8 miles (1.2 km) SW
Cwrt-y-bella Colliery — 0.9 miles (1.5 km) N

Straight-line distance, within 9 miles (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.

Evan and Lewis Lewis began working coal at Woodfield in 1815. ¹
The colliery was mentioned in the 1842 Royal Commission report, when Thomas Protheroe employed 64 men there. ¹
It employed 91 men in 1896 and 101 in 1908. ¹
Penrhiw and Woodfield appear on the Mynyddislwyn plans of the Hengoed, Pontllanfraith and Blackwood area. ²
Penmaen Colliery Ltd employed 16 men in 1923, and the colliery closed around 1930. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Welsh Coal Mines: Woodfield Colliery (reference)

Owners from 1815 to about 1930, with a photograph of about 1908 and of the prize-winning lump coal of 1909.

View source

Sources

(secondary) Welsh Coal Mines: Woodfield Colliery, near Pontllanfraith — Welsh Coal Mines
(primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: HENGOED, PONTLLANFRAITH, BLACKWOOD AREA, PENRHIW, WOODFIELD, CWMDOWS ... (Mynyddislwyn) — British Geological Survey

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