Garw/Ffaldau Colliery

Last updated

The Garw/Ffaldau Colliery was a colliery formed in 1975 in Pontycymer, Wales. It was formed from the joining together of the Garw Colliery and the Ffaldau Colliery. [1] [2] The Ffaldau Colliery had 1,100 workers in 1927, though this had declined by half by the mid 1930s. [3]

The pit closed in November 1985; a total of 630 miners lost their jobs. A potential buy out of the pit by workers had been mooted, but this was deemed to have been prohibitively expensive after the National Coal Board cut the ropes on the caged lift and 200,000 tonnes of hardcore were poured down the mine shaft. A reunion was held of former mine workers in 2015. [4]

The Garw Colliery (also known as the Ocean Colliery) was one of six pits in the Garw valley. [5] Following the merger of the two pits workers entering at Blaengarw had a 1–2 mile walk underground due to the closure of the access shaft at Pontycymer. [4]

Related Research Articles

The miners' strike of 1984-85 was a major industrial action to shut down the British coal industry in an attempt to prevent colliery closures. It was led by Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) against the National Coal Board (NCB), a government agency. Opposition to the strike was led by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who wanted to reduce the power of the trade unions.

River Garw

The River Garw runs for about 12 miles from its source in the hills north of Blaengarw to the confluence with the River Ogmore and the River Llynfi at Aberkenfig. It is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore which runs through the town of Bridgend. It is in Wales, United Kingdom.

Big Pit National Coal Museum Former mine and industrial heritage museum

Big Pit National Coal Museum is an industrial heritage museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales. A working coal mine from 1880 to 1980, it was opened to the public in 1983 under the auspices of the National Museum of Wales. The site is dedicated to operational preservation of the Welsh heritage of coal mining, which took place during the Industrial revolution.

The Garw Valley Railway is the trading name of the Bridgend Valleys Railway Company Limited. It operates a short section of 4 ft 8 12 instandard gauge railway located in South Wales, which is being recreated as a heritage railway. Formerly part of the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway (L&OR) and built by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the line was used for freight and passenger services, with most of the track still in place between Brynmenyn and Pontycymer. The project currently has a train shed at Pontycymer, and hopes to initially offer brake van rides between Pontycymer and Pant-y-Gog, a distance of 0.5 miles (0.8 km).

South Wales Coalfield Region of Wales rich in coal deposits

The South Wales Coalfield extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales Valleys.

Tower Colliery Historic Welsh coal mine active until 2008

Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, until its closure in 2008. It was the last mine of its kind to remain in the South Wales Valleys. It was located near the villages of Hirwaun and Rhigos, north of the town of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley of South Wales.

Senghenydd colliery disaster Mining explosion in 1913

The Senghenydd colliery disaster, also known as the Senghenydd explosion, occurred at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales, on 14 October 1913. The explosion, which killed 439 miners and a rescuer, is the worst mining accident in the United Kingdom. Universal Colliery, on the South Wales Coalfield, extracted steam coal, which was much in demand. Some of the region's coal seams contained high quantities of firedamp, a highly explosive gas consisting of methane and hydrogen.

Denaby Main Village in South Yorkshire, England

Denaby Main is a village situated between Mexborough and Conisbrough in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Doncaster MBC ward of Conisbrough and Denaby. It was built by the Denaby Main Colliery Company to house its workers and their families, and originally given the name Denaby Main Colliery Village, to distinguish it from the village of Denaby, about ⅔ mile away on the road to Hooton Roberts and Kilnhurst; from that time, the old village became known as Old Denaby. In due course the "Colliery Village" part of the name was lost, leaving the village to be known as Denaby Main.

Mining in Wales

Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It was key to the Industrial Revolution.

Kellingley Colliery

Kellingley Colliery was a deep coal mine in North Yorkshire, England, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) east of Ferrybridge power station. It was owned and operated by UK Coal.

Bedwas Navigation Colliery was a coal mine in the small Welsh village of Bedwas, two miles (3.2 km) north of Caerphilly. The colliery opened in 1913, and closed after the miners' strike of 1984-85.

Hopkinstown Human settlement in Wales

Hopkinstown is a small village to the west of Pontypridd town centre in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales situated alongside the banks of the River Rhondda. Hopkinstown is a former coal mining industrial community and is a district in the town of Pontypridd within the Rhondda electoral ward. It is neighboured by the settlements of Pwllgwaun, Trehafod and Pantygraigwen, and also comprises the subdistricts of Troed-Rhiw-Trwyn and Gyfeillion.

Maerdy Colliery was a coal mine located in the South Wales village of Maerdy, in the Rhondda Valley, located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Opened in 1875, it closed in December 1990.

Markham Main Colliery Former colliery in South Yorkshire, England

Markham Main Colliery was a coal mine in Armthorpe, on the eastern edge of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It could be seen, and was a landmark, from the nearby M18. 87 miners were killed at the pit.

The Tarenni Colliery and its associated workings, are a series of coal mines and pits located between the villages of Godre'r Graig and Cilybebyll located in the valley of the River Tawe, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, South Wales.

Deep Navigation Colliery

Deep Navigation Colliery was a coal mine in South Wales, that operated from 1872 until 1991.

Bwllfa Colliery was a coal mine located in the Dare valley near Cwmdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It operated from 1856 to 1957, remaining open as a ventilation shaft for Mardy Colliery until 1989.

Wheldale Colliery Former coal mine in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England

Wheldale Colliery was a coal mine located in Castleford, Yorkshire, England which produced coal for 117 years. It was accessed from Wheldon Road.

Barrow Colliery Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England

Barrow Colliery was a coal mine in Worsborough, South Yorkshire, England. It was first dug in 1873, with the first coal being brought to the surface in January 1876. It was the scene of a major incident in 1907 when seven miners died. After 109 years of coaling operations, the mine was closed in May 1985.

Bentley Colliery Former coal mine in South Yorkshire, England

Bentley Colliery was a coal mine in Bentley, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, that operated between 1906 and 1993. In common with many other mines, it suffered a disaster in 1931 when 45 miners were killed after a gas explosion. The site of the mine has been converted into a woodland.

References

  1. Cornwell, 2001 pg. 121
  2. Ben Curtis (15 May 2013). The South Wales Miners: 1964-1985. University of Wales Press. p. 106. ISBN   978-1-78316-555-1.
  3. Alan Campbell; Nina Fishman (5 December 2016). Miners, Unions and Politics, 1910–1947. Taylor & Francis. p. 106. ISBN   978-1-351-91738-4.
  4. 1 2 Abby Bolter (4 November 2015). "Ex miners plan one last reunion three decades after closure of the last Garw pit". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  5. "Garw Valley Collieries". Digging Up the Past. Retrieved 20 October 2017.

Coordinates: 51°36′44″N3°35′06″W / 51.6122°N 3.5851°W / 51.6122; -3.5851