Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
Encyclopedia
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum is a former coal mine, now operating as a museum
. It is located at Crynant
near Neath
in the South Wales Valleys
.
in the Neath
area began with the development of the port of Neath in the 16th century. In 1743 Sir Herbert Mackworth, one of the Mackworth Baronets
, began mining at Onllwyn
, with production rising with the opening of the Neath and Brecon Railway
in 1864. David Bevan opened a pit a Blaendulais in 1872, naming it the Seven Sisters
after his seven daughters. The Evans-Bevan family then began exploiting the Swansea Valley
from the 1870s, and by nationalisation in 1947 owned seven collieries within seven miles of each other.
. The first coal
raised in 1930, with the shaft and workings powered by a steam engine, fueled by the gas form the old workings.
Like much of western South Wales coalfield
, the coal was high quality anthracite. The best coal came from the deepest seam called Big Vein, broken into at a depth of 750 yards. Cefn Coed during its working life at depths of over 2,500 feet (800m), was the deepest anthracite mine in the world. Other shafts worked at Cefn Coed included: Peacock, White Four Feet and the Nine Feet. Brammallite
was identified in the Dulais seam, by X-ray
diffraction by the Natural History Museum
, London
; making Cefn Coed one of only two sites in all of Wales for Brammallite. However, at such depths and with frequent mining accident
s due to methane gas and roof falls, the pit and it soon gained the unenviable nickname
of "The Slaughterhouse."
By the end of World War II
in 1945 there were 908 men employed. Nationalised by the National Coal Board
, continual investment was required to combat the need to keep roadways open at the extreme depths. Changing economics lead to a reduction in the workforce from the 1950s, and the mine ceased production in 1968.
A majority of the men were transferred to the new Blaenant drift mine, built to extract coal form the No.2 Rhondda
seam at a shallower depth. One of the two shafts at Cefn Coed was used to ventilate Blaenant, and as an emergency exit, until the closure of Blaenant in 1990.
Manufactured in 1927, the Worsley Mesne steam winding engine sits in the boiler house with its suite of six Lancashire steam boilers. The engine has two cylinders with a bore of 32 inches, while the drum is 10 ft wide. The drum held two ropes each over 800 yards long, with a breaking strain of 234 ton
s. The ropes were inspected everyday, weight tested every three months and replaced completely every 2½ years. Every six months they were shortened by about 6 feet in order to eliminate wear and stress at the end of the rope.
There is no access to the underground workings within the museum, but a simulated gallery provides full accessibility for blind and disabled visitors. As well as artefacts from the mining industry, the museum also houses a restored and unique gas tram
, which ran in Neath until 1920.
The museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage
.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. It is located at Crynant
Crynant
Crynant is a village in the Dulais Valley, lying between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, Wales....
near Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
in the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
.
Background
Coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
in the Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
area began with the development of the port of Neath in the 16th century. In 1743 Sir Herbert Mackworth, one of the Mackworth Baronets
Mackworth Baronets
There have been two Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Mackworth, one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. One creation is extant as of 2008....
, began mining at Onllwyn
Onllwyn
Onllwyn is a small village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, near Seven Sisters.-History:First developed by the Romans, local village Banwen is confined to the Roman Road of Sarn Helen. There are two Roman forts and the remains of a Roman Road within the community.Legend has it that St Patrick was born...
, with production rising with the opening of the Neath and Brecon Railway
Neath and Brecon Railway
The Neath and Brecon Railway linked the Vale of Neath Railway at Neath with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Brecon and also via a connection from Colbren Junction, it linked to the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon Junction ....
in 1864. David Bevan opened a pit a Blaendulais in 1872, naming it the Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters, Wales
Seven Sisters Dulais) is a village in the Dulais Valley, Wales, UK. It lies north-east of Neath. Seven Sisters falls within the Seven Sisters ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough.-History:...
after his seven daughters. The Evans-Bevan family then began exploiting the Swansea Valley
Swansea Valley
The Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys is the name often given to the valley of the River Tawe area in South Wales, UK. It reaches southwest and south from the Brecon Beacons National Park down to the city of Swansea. Today, administration of the area is divided between the City and...
from the 1870s, and by nationalisation in 1947 owned seven collieries within seven miles of each other.
History
Cefn Coed Colliery was opened as an anthracite colliery by the Llwynonn Colliery Company during the 1920s. Three attempts were unsuccessfully made to sink shafts at Cefn Coed, but it was not until the Llwynonn Colliery company was bought out by the Amalgamated Anthracite Combine of Ammanford in 1926 and high capital investment made, that a break was made in the hard Blue Pennant sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
. The first coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
raised in 1930, with the shaft and workings powered by a steam engine, fueled by the gas form the old workings.
Like much of western South Wales coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
, the coal was high quality anthracite. The best coal came from the deepest seam called Big Vein, broken into at a depth of 750 yards. Cefn Coed during its working life at depths of over 2,500 feet (800m), was the deepest anthracite mine in the world. Other shafts worked at Cefn Coed included: Peacock, White Four Feet and the Nine Feet. Brammallite
Brammallite
Brammallite is a sodium rich analogue of illite. First described in 1943 for an occurrence in Llandybie, Carmarthenshire, Wales, it was named for British geologist and mineralogist Alfred Brammall ....
was identified in the Dulais seam, by X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
diffraction by the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; making Cefn Coed one of only two sites in all of Wales for Brammallite. However, at such depths and with frequent mining accident
Mining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
s due to methane gas and roof falls, the pit and it soon gained the unenviable nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
of "The Slaughterhouse."
By the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1945 there were 908 men employed. Nationalised by the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
, continual investment was required to combat the need to keep roadways open at the extreme depths. Changing economics lead to a reduction in the workforce from the 1950s, and the mine ceased production in 1968.
A majority of the men were transferred to the new Blaenant drift mine, built to extract coal form the No.2 Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
seam at a shallower depth. One of the two shafts at Cefn Coed was used to ventilate Blaenant, and as an emergency exit, until the closure of Blaenant in 1990.
Museum
The complete above ground mine workings remain intact on site, with the steam winding engine from No.2 shaft now electrically driven.Manufactured in 1927, the Worsley Mesne steam winding engine sits in the boiler house with its suite of six Lancashire steam boilers. The engine has two cylinders with a bore of 32 inches, while the drum is 10 ft wide. The drum held two ropes each over 800 yards long, with a breaking strain of 234 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s. The ropes were inspected everyday, weight tested every three months and replaced completely every 2½ years. Every six months they were shortened by about 6 feet in order to eliminate wear and stress at the end of the rope.
There is no access to the underground workings within the museum, but a simulated gallery provides full accessibility for blind and disabled visitors. As well as artefacts from the mining industry, the museum also houses a restored and unique gas tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
, which ran in Neath until 1920.
The museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
.
External links
- Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
- Official website at Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
- History of mine at WelshCoalMines.co.uk
- Plan workings at Neath Port Talbot councilNeath Port TalbotNeath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....
- Welsh Coal Mines - all the Welsh pits (and their histories in brief)
- Forlorn Britain - Exploring the Remains of Cefn Coed Colliery
- 5 pages of artifacts associated with Cefn Coed colliery held on Gathering the Jewels, the Welsh Cultural History website
- Cefn Coed colliery on www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the site and surrounding area