Bersham Colliery
The Engine House and Winding Gear at Bersham
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Rhostyllen |
| County | Wrexham County Borough Council |
| Country | Wales |
| Production | |
| Products | Coal |
| History | |
| Opened | 1864 |
| Active | 1871-1986 |
| Closed | 1986 |
| Owner | |
| Company | British Coal |
Bersham Colliery was a large coal mine located near Rhostyllen in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The mine accessed seams found in the Denbighshire Coalfield.
The Wrexham area in the 19th Century was highly industrialised. At the peak there were 38 different collieries operating in the area, each producing coal totalling over 2.5 million tonnes annually to the numerous brickworks and steelworks in the area, including Brymbo Steel Works and Shotton Steel Works.
When the colliery first opened it was named Glan-yr-Afon (English: Riverside) Colliery. Operated by Bersham Coal Company, the first shaft was sunk in 1864 on the site of a brickworks immediately adjacent to the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line, however due to difficulties the pit did not reach the main coal seams and the site was left abandoned until 1871 when the pit was deepened by new owners, the Barnes family of Liverpool; coal production started in 1874 with two shafts; No.1 at a diameter of 10 feet and depth of 420 yards, and No.2 shaft at a diameter of 12 feet and a depth of 421 yards.
The colliery worked for six years without major incident until 1880, when a major underground explosion killed 9 men, among them the colliery manager, William Pattison. In 1896, there were 711 men working at both shafts.
There was further growth at the colliery, with 848 men working there by 1908, and 878 by 1918. As with most mining communities, sons followed their fathers into the mines; and the local communities of Rhostyllen, Rhosllannerchrugog and Johnstown grew in size around the coal industry in the area. By 1903, the Wrexham and District Electric Tramways ran from Johnstown to Wrexham through Rhostyllen, connecting the major mining villages with Wrexham General railway station and the town centre.
Another explosion killed a number of men in 1909. This was the final major incident at Bersham, barring another in 1933, when the timber headgear burned to the ground. Replacement headgear which still stands today was purchased and moved from the nearby Gatewen Colliery at Broughton, Wrexham.
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