Yard Level, Tredegar

Overview

The Tredegar Iron Works' coal level at the top of the works, driven from 1802, from which the block of coal for the Great Exhibition of 1851 was cut; the block still lies in Bedwellty Park, and the level's mouth was at today's bus station.

History

The Yard Level was driven by the Tredegar Iron Works Company in 1802 at the top of the ironworks. It went in to 333 feet 4 inches and cut the Two Feet Nine at 48 inches, the Four Feet at 72, the Six Feet at 75, the Upper Nine Feet at 33 and the Bute at 14. The NMRS records the same seams, by their local names, at the No. 10 or Yard Pit, sunk in 1838 to 333 feet and filled in 1957. In 1853 a collier, Thomas Halton, 26, was killed by a fall of coal in his stall at the Yard Level.

For the Great Exhibition of 1851 John Jones, known as 'Collier Mawr', cut at the Yard Level what is probably the largest block of coal ever cut, weighing fifteen tons by one account and twenty by another. Moving it to London proved too difficult, and it was set in the grounds of Bedwellty House; a two-ton block cut for the Festival of Britain in 1951 lies beside it under a cover building. The block was listed at Grade II in 1992. The level was closed in 1873, and its entrance was where Tredegar bus station now stands.

Geology

South Wales Coalfield: the Two Feet Nine (Elled), Four Feet (Big Vein), Six Feet, Upper Nine Feet and Bute seams.

Workings

A level driven 333 feet 4 inches from the ironworks; the NMRS gives a Yard Pit sunk to the same depth in 1838.

Closure

Closed in 1873; the NMRS has the Yard Pit filled in 1957.

What remains

The entrance site is Tredegar bus station, where a wall plaque marked the level in 2005; the Great Exhibition block of coal is preserved in Bedwellty Park.

A wall plaque (2005); the coal block in Bedwellty Park.

Redevelopment

Tredegar bus station.

Related mines

• Ash Tree Pit, Tredegar — Tredegar Iron Company workings around the Tredegar ironworks.
• Dukes Pit, Tredegar — Tredegar Iron Company workings around the Tredegar ironworks.
• Mountain Pit, Tredegar — Tredegar Iron Company coal workings above the ironworks.

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. 10 or Yard Pit was sunk in 1838 to 333 feet and filled in 1957. (disputed) ²
• The block weighed twenty tons; it was cut by John Jones, 'Collier Mawr'. (disputed) ⁴

Recorded claims

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

• The Yard Level was driven by the Tredegar Iron Works Company in 1802 and closed in 1873. ¹
• It went 333 feet 4 inches and cut the Two Feet Nine (48 in), Four Feet (72 in), Six Feet (75 in), Upper Nine Feet (33 in) and Bute (14 in). ¹
• The No. 10 or Yard Pit was sunk in 1838 to 333 feet and filled in 1957. (disputed) ²
• A block of coal weighing 15 tons was cut at the Yard Level for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and lies in Bedwellty Park. ^1,3
• The block weighed twenty tons; it was cut by John Jones, 'Collier Mawr'. (disputed) ⁴
• The block was listed at Grade II on 21 August 1992 and lies under a shelter west of Bedwellty House. ⁵
• The entrance to the Yard Level was at what is now Tredegar bus station. ⁴
• Thomas Halton, 26, was killed by a fall of coal in his stall at the Yard Level in 1853. ²

Sources

1. (secondary) Yard Levels (Tredegar, Rhymney, Nantyglo, Beaufort) — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) NMRS: The Tredegar collieries — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) Coflein: Great Exhibition lump of coal, Bedwellty Park (NPRN 32859) — Coflein (RCAHMW)
4. (secondary) The Homfray Trail, Tredegar — Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
5. (secondary) Great Exhibition Lump of Coal at Bedwellty Park, Tredegar (Cadw listing) — British Listed Buildings (Cadw listing text)

Record created: 18 October 2026 · Last researched: 18 October 2026