Ynyscorrwg Colliery

Overview

A pit and drift at Glyncorrwg in the Afan Valley working the No. 2 Rhondda seam, run by the Ynyscorrwg Colliery Company and then the Glyncorrwg Colliery Company, employing over 500 men in the early 1920s before closing in the mid-1920s.

History

The Ynyscorrwg Pit at Glyncorrwg was sunk to just below the No. 2 Rhondda seam, which it met at 712 feet 3 inches; there the seam was 15 inches of coal, 6 inches of dirt and 34 inches of coal. It had 92 men in 1912 but was not listed in 1913, and in 1915 a drift was driven down to the No. 2 Rhondda, which was then worked to the rise from a depth of 126 yards. In 1917 it belonged to the Ynyscorrwg Colliery Company of Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, which was not a member of the coal owners' association; in 1918 it employed 393 men underground and 99 on the surface under the manager W. E. Hoyle. By 1921 the Glyncorrwg Colliery Company owned it, and in 1923, with Hoyle still in charge, between 541 and 636 men were working at Ynyscorrwg in the No. 2 Rhondda. The Glyncorrwg company's No. 2 Rhondda workings at Glyncorrwg, Blaengwynfi and Ynyscorrwg were abandoned in 1925, and Ynyscorrwg did not work after the 1926 strike.

Geology

South Wales Coalfield: the No. 2 Rhondda seam, 15 inches of coal, 6 inches of dirt and 34 inches of coal at the pit.

Workings

A pit sunk to just below the No. 2 Rhondda seam, and from 1915 a drift down to the same seam, worked to the rise from 126 yards.

Closure

The No. 2 Rhondda workings at Glyncorrwg, Blaengwynfi and Ynyscorrwg were abandoned in 1925; one account dates Ynyscorrwg's closure to 1926, during the general strike.

What remains

Unknown.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Blaengwynfi Colliery — The same company's No. 2 Rhondda workings; one abandonment plan of 1925 covers Glyncorrwg, Blaengwynfi and Ynyscorrwg.
• Glyncorrwg Colliery — Owned by the Glyncorrwg Colliery Company from 1921; Welsh Coal Mines writes the two up together.

What's uncertain

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

• A 1923 list gives 636 men at Ynyscorrwg. (disputed) ¹
• In 1923 it employed 410 men underground and 131 on the surface. (disputed) ²
• It closed in 1926. (disputed) ^1,2

Recorded claims

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

• The pit reached the No. 2 Rhondda seam at 712 feet 3 inches. ^1,2
• In 1915 a drift was driven down to the No. 2 Rhondda seam, worked to the rise from 126 yards. ^1,2
• In 1917 it belonged to the Ynyscorrwg Colliery Company of Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff, and by 1921 to the Glyncorrwg Colliery Company. ^1,2
• In 1918 it employed 393 men underground and 99 on the surface. ^1,2
• A 1923 list gives 636 men at Ynyscorrwg. (disputed) ¹
• In 1923 it employed 410 men underground and 131 on the surface. (disputed) ²
• The No. 2 Rhondda seam workings at Glyncorrwg, Blaengwynfi and Ynyscorrwg were abandoned in 1925. ³
• It closed in 1926. (disputed) ^1,2

Sources

1. (secondary) Glyncorrwg Colliery — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Ynyscorrwg Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) GLYNCORRWG/ BLAENGWYNFI/ YNYSCORRWG, No 2 Rhondda: abandonment plan catalogue entry (1925) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority

Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026