Bwllfa Colliery
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Cwmdare |
| Country | Wales |
| Production | |
| Products | Ironstone, Steam coal |
| History | |
| Opened | 1853 |
| Active | 1856-1957 |
| Closed | 1977 |
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 1977.
In 1853, Sam and Joseph Thomas began sinking a pit shaft within the remote farming community at the top of the Dare Valley. The two shafts were 200 yards (180 m) deep, and initially operated by water balance winding, with ventilation from a furnace. Production commenced in 1856, but by 1857 business partner Ebenezer Lewis was the sole owner.
51°43′08″N 3°29′31″W / 51.719°N 3.492°W
In 1856, Mordecai Jones began sinking the shaft of the Nantmelyn Colliery. After opening in 1860, by 1864 the Bwllfa Colliery Company were the owners. In 1867 they sunk a second 150 yards (140 m) deep shaft, ventilated by Guibal fan. Brogden and Sons took over the colliery in 1873.
In 1876, the two pits were merged under the combined Bwlfa and Merthyr Dare Coal Company. After a series of accidents criticised by the HM Inspectorate of Mines, seeking new investment the company reformed as the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Collieries (1891) Ltd., allowing opening of the Gorllwyn level in 1891.
By 1896, No.1 pit employed 1,128, while renamed Nantmelyn now Bwllfa No.2 employed an additional 231. In 1907, the company took over the mineral rights to the old Powell's pit (also known as Pwll Troedrhiwllech and Cwmdare Pit), opened By Thomas Powell 1851, which it reopened as Bwllfa No.3.
Like many mines, the company lost some of its workforce during World War I, but by the end of 1918 this had recovered to: 1,054 at No.1; 931 at No.2/new drift No.4; 423 at No.3. Due to its ease of access, in 1922 the first electric powered coal cutting machines to be used in the South Wales coalfield were installed at Bwllfa No.3. By 1923, producing both ironstone and steam coal:
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