Worcester Colliery

Overview

A Fforestfach colliery begun in 1845, later worked by the Glasbrooks and Philip Richard together with Weig Fach, where an explosion killed four men in September 1873; it closed in 1897 or 1898.

History

Worcester Colliery stood at Fforestfach, on the north-west edge of Swansea. Septimus Redhead of the Worcester Coal Company cut the first sod in March 1845, and the colliery was worked with the Weig Fach Colliery and the Pwll Sant, or Saint's Pit. The shaft was 300 ft deep and 13 ft by 7 ft, ventilated by a 22-ft Waddle fan. Thomas Glasbrook bought it in December 1849 and later passed it to his son, Thomas Glasbrook junior; the shaft was deepened and in 1864 struck 'a vein of highly bituminous coal'. A local-history account gives a later start, saying Glasbrook opened Worcester in 1861 and Weig Fach in 1870.

T. Glasbrook was listed as owner in 1869, but by 1877 the Landore Siemens Steel Company held it with Glasbrook as manager, and the steel company sublet the working to a separate company. In early September 1873 an explosion killed four men: John Howells, 24, and Joseph Humel, 23, of Babell, William Lake, 42, of Ystrad, and William Thomas, 44, of Cockett. The inquest jury recommended the immediate removal of the fireman in charge, who had found gas in the workings two hours before the blast but let the men work on. The same fireman was in charge, and died, in the second explosion at the Weig Fach colliery in 1877.

The Worcester Coal Co. owned the colliery by 1880. When the sublessee surrendered in 1884, Philip Richard of Swansea took over both Worcester and Weig Fach and formed the Forest Fach Coal Company to work them; Weig Fach was absorbed into Worcester in 1889. The 1896 list of mines shows 78 men producing manufacturing and coking coal and fireclay under Richard. The colliery closed in 1897 or 1898, and his bankruptcy examination in 1908 recorded that he had lost about £20,000 at Worcester before it closed.

Geology

The shaft, 300 ft deep, struck a vein of highly bituminous coal in 1864 after it was deepened. The Five Feet seam is the seam of the abandonment plan for Worcester and Weig Fach.

Workings

A single shaft 13 ft by 7 ft, 300 ft deep, with ventilation by a 22-ft Waddle fan, worked in conjunction with the Weig Fach Colliery to the south and the Pwll Sant, or Saint's Pit. The colliery produced manufacturing and coking coal and fireclay.

Closure

The combined Worcester and Weig Fach colliery closed in 1897 according to one account and 1898 according to another; a plan of the Five Feet seam for both was deposited as abandoned in 1898. Philip Richard, the last lessee, lost about £20,000 on it.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Weigfach Colliery — Worked in conjunction with the Weig Fach pits, which were absorbed into Worcester in 1889; the same fireman was in charge at the Worcester explosion of 1873 and died in the Weig Fach explosion of 1877.

What's uncertain

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

• Thomas Glasbrook opened Worcester Colliery in 1861 and Weig Fach in 1870. (disputed) ²
• The combined Worcester and Weig Fach colliery closed in 1897. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• Septimus Redhead of the Worcester Coal Company cut the first sod in March 1845; the shaft was 300 ft deep and 13 ft by 7 ft. ¹
• Thomas Glasbrook opened Worcester Colliery in 1861 and Weig Fach in 1870. (disputed) ²
• Thomas Glasbrook bought the colliery in December 1849; the Landore Siemens Steel Company held it by 1877. ¹
• An explosion in early September 1873 killed four men; the inquest jury recommended the immediate removal of the fireman in charge. ¹
• Philip Richard took over the management of Worcester and Weig Fach in 1884 and formed the Forest Fach Coal Company to work them; Weig Fach was absorbed into Worcester in 1889. ²
• The 1896 list of mines shows 78 men at the colliery, producing manufacturing and coking coal and fireclay under Philip Richard of Swansea. ¹
• The colliery closed in 1898, the year a plan of the Five Feet seam of Worcester and Weig Fach was deposited as abandoned. ^1,3
• The combined Worcester and Weig Fach colliery closed in 1897. (disputed) ²

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Worcester and Weigfach Collieries, Fforestfach — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Philip Richard II (1844–1912) — Clyne Valley Community Project
3. (primary) BGS mine plan: WORCESTER/ WEIG FACH (Five Feet seam, abandoned 1898) — British Geological Survey / Mine Remediation Authority

Record created: 23 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 October 2026