Fernhill & Blaenrhondda Collieries All Seam

The History of Fernhill & Blaenrhondda Colliery

Fernhill and Blaenrhondda Collieries were situated in the northern end of the Rhondda Fawr Valley and approximately 300m north of the village of Blaenrhondda.

The collieries were erected on the land of Blaenrhondda and Ystradffernol farms, both part of the Dunraven Estate (Tithe map and schedule of Ystradyfodwg, 1844). Blaenrhondda Colliery, (Shafts 3 & 4) also known as the North Dunraven Pit, was sunk in 1859 by George Lockett, James Marychurch, Herbert Kirkhouse and Rees Jones and traded as the Cardiff and Merthyr Steam Coal Company until bought as a going concern by the London and South Wales Coal Company in 1875.

In the meantime, development of the adjacent Fernhill Colliery started with the sinking of Nos. 1 and 2 pits by J. Marychurch and Partners in 1871. Shafts Nos. 3 and 4, (Blaenrhondda Colliery which were situated approximately 300m north of shafts 1 & 2) Fernhill, were sunk under the ownership of Messrs Crowley, John and Oldroyd of Dewsbury further in 1872. Blaenrhondda and Fernhill collieries were amalgamated in 1893 under the ownership of George Watkinson and Sons to form Fernhill Collieries Limited.

It is reported that in 1874 two men were killed in a shaft accident when the stage on which they were working collapsed, they fell in to the sump and drowned.

In 1877 the colliery was owned by George Watkinson & Sons.

17th May 1879, South Wales Daily News “FATAL ACGIDENT All FERNHILL COLLIERY. A man named Samuel Williams while working at Fernhill Colliery on Wednesday night, at the bottom of the pit got under a descending carriage, and was knocked into the sump." He sustained such severe injury that he died shortly afterwards.”

27th May 1882, Weekly Mail “FATAL COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT TREHERBERT. Mr. T. Williams, deputy coroner, last week held an inquest into the circumstances attending the death of Richard Jones, aged 29, an assistant- hitcher at Fernhill Colliery, Treherbert. It was stated that on the 2nd of May the deceased was at work assisting the hitcher at the bottom of the pit. the hitcher being on one side pushing on the full trams, and the deceased on the other side pulling off the empties, when a large lump of "brass" (a heavy stone) fell down the pit, striking the top of the carriage that was coming down, and glancing off it struck the deceased on the arm and legs, breaking them. He was taken home. On the 3rd inst. one leg' and one arm were amputated, but he died on the 4th. It was stated that there was a large beam on each side of the pit within four or five inches of the carriage, and in reply to the question whether he thought that was as near as it ought to be, the manager said he considered it was, as if closer there were other dangers, such as of men being caught when going up in the carriage if they did not keep "close in. "The jury returned a verdict of Accidental death."

1st July 1882, The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman’s News “Ever Since Saturday last some timber above the arch over the underground boilers at Fernhill Colliery above Treherbert, has been on fire. It was thought when the fire was first discovered that it would soon be put out. But it is still smouldering, and is beginning to cause considerable anxiety in the minds of the authorities at the colliery.”

24th July 1882, South Wales Daily News “THE FERNHILL COLLIERY. The difference between the proprietors of the above colliery and their workmen has for the past four weeks been the subject of some interest in the district, and the news that the matter has been amicably settled without resorting to any legal proceedings, which is the means of so much bitterness between employers and employed, will be welcomed by all parties. Mr Watkinson, the proprietor Mr Rosser, the manager Mr W. Simons, Merthyr and Mr W. Abraham, miners' agent, met at Merthyr on Saturday. After a somewhat lengthy consultation, it was arranged that the men should resume work at once, and be paid, as heretofore, on the old standard rates. Mr Abraham will meet the men this (Monday) morning to inform them of the arrangement.”

26th October 1888, The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workmen’s News – “COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT TRE- HERBERT. George Evans. Mountain-row, Tynewydd, was very seriously injured in Fernhill Colliery on Fri- day night. It appears he was trying to pa(?) under the pit while the cage was descending, which came upon him, breaking his back and some of his ribs. There is little or no hope of his recovery.”

 

19th August 1890 South Wales Daily News “FERNIILL COLLIERY MANAGEMENT. — Mr D. R. Jones, who has been under manager at the Crump Meadow Collieries for rather more than two years, having left last month to take the management of Fernhill Collieries, Treherbert, is to be presented by his late employer with a nice silver tea and coffee service, and a lady's gold guard for Mrs Jones.”

 

22nd June 1892, South Wales Daily News “SHOCKING COLLIERY ACCIDENT. TWO MEN FALL DOWN A PIT IN THE RHONDDA. MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF EIGHT OTHERS. EXCITING SCENES. A dreadful colliery winding accident occurred on Tuesday morning in the upcast shaft of the Fernhill Colliery, the property of the Fernhill Merthyr Colliery Company, situate at Blaenrhondda, the extremity of the Rhondda Valley, whereby two men were instantaneously killed and several slightly injured. It appears that about five minutes to seven o'clock about 80 men had been lowered to the six feet seam or the bottom of the upcast shaft, which is about 360 yards deep, and while the succeeding cage containing 10 men, which is the specified number of workmen allowed to descend at a time, was being let down, it is conjectured that the ascending and the descending cages collided about the middle of the shaft. The ascending cage was empty. The engineman, who is a most experienced hand, immediately concluded that a disaster had occurred in the pit, and stopped the engine. One of the iron ropes guiding the cages as they worked up and down the pit snapped, and a portion of the framework above the mouth of the shaft was torn away. Fears were, therefore, entertained that all the men in the cage had been killed. It was impossible to obtain access to the poor fellows, except through the downcast shaft, situate about 20 yards away. About the middle of the upcast pit, wherein the disaster happened, the two pits were connected by an opening or a small level, and it was a few yards below this spot that the two cages collided. A number of men at the bottom of the adjacent shaft, hearing the terrific crash, hastened through the short level to the pitside, and perceiving the wreckage and hearing the cries of the poor fellows entangled and suspended therein in the darkness a few yards below, immediately devised means to get at them. Two or three of the rescuers procured iron bars, and having coiled themselves about the nearest iron rope or guides running down the pit, slid down upon the wrecked iron cages. Clutching to the iron rope and standing upon the cages about 180 yards below the mouth of the shaft, they succeeded in shifting the cage containing the poor fellows caged in among the wreckage, and grasping the signal wire running down the pit-side, signalled to the engineman to pull up a little gently. The cage containing the men was quite fast to the other wrecked one, but it was lifted up a little. It stuck fast again, and the iron bars were again applied to release it. During all this terrible suspense the poor affrighted fellows were cooped up in the damaged cage. Their lights had gone out, and they were in pitch darkness for some time. After the lapse of an hour the rescuers succeeded in detaching the two crushed and twisted cages, and the men were raised a little bit again. But within a couple of yards of the mouth of the opening leading to the other pit the cage caught the side and stuck fast once more. Fortunately, there was a trap door on the top of the cage, used generally for the purpose of admitting timbers into it to be lowered into the mine, and the poor fellows were lifted up through this aperture, and thence pulled up by the arms into the opening or the mouth of the level, 180 yards below the surface. It was now found that eight of the occupants had escaped almost unhurt, two or three of them having sustained slight injuries. Among the eight were two aged men, one 73 years of age and the other about 53. It was pitiable to hear them describing their feelings during the long time they were suspended in that dreadful position. "I have prayed thousands of times," said one of them, "but I never prayed before so imploringly. Some of us were full stretched upon the floor of the cage, having dropped down when the accident occurred, and we all prayed. We coiled arms around one another and clutched to the side of the cage. Every second we entertained fears that we would all fall to the bottom of the shaft. Our prayers and our cries and our groans were heartrending. We thanked the Almighty when we got out safe." Some of the men were conducted home, each between two fellow workmen. The fearful shock had greatly affected them. Hundreds of persons from the adjacent neighbourhood gathered around the month of the pit in a short space of time after the occurrence, and when it became known that eight of the hapless fellows had escaped there were manifestations of great joy. For hours it was impossible to ascertain correctly how many had been killed. Although eight of the men had escaped, and only ten persons were allowed by the special rules of the colliery to descend at the time, still, it was stated, that on that occasion, one or two more miners might have entered the cage, because there were a number of workmen waiting their turn to be lowered into the mine. It appears that sometimes, in many collieries, one or two workmen over the usual or specified number rush into the cages when there is a crowd at the pit's mouth within a few minutes of seven o'clock, the time time for prohibiting more to be let down, and to commence raising coal. It was rumoured for several hours after the accident that four had been killed, or that twelve were in the cage at the time of the disaster. The 80 men, who had just been let down before the sad occurrence took place, were at the bottom of the shaft. Some of them shouted at the top of their voices to those at the mouth of the opening, half-way up the pit, that they had searched the bottom of the shaft carefully, but could find no more than two bodies. The names of the poor fellows wore Obediah Phillips, about 23 years of age, married, with two children, residing at Brynwyndham terrace, Tynewydd, and Richard Williams, about 23 years old, married, with two children, residing at Halifax row, Tynewydd, near Treherbert. The body of one was discovered at the bottom of the sump, which generally contains a large quantity of water, issuing out of the sides of the pit. The body of the other poor fellow was found fearfully mutilated upon the stout wooden planks partially covering the sump, supporting the heavy iron cages when they are loaded at the bottom of the pit. The body in the sump was found after all the water had been pumped out. The only way to get out from the bottom of this shaft, where the eighty men and the two bodies were, was by means of a level running through some old workings, a distance of about a mile and a half. and thence by climbing a series of ladders, almost perpendicular, attached to the side of a small pit leading to another seam above, and from the mouth of this pit through another level to the bottom of the downcast shaft. In conveying the two bodies over that long distance in the interior of the mine, the men had to crawl over a large fall, and the height of the almost perpendicular ladders was about 40 yards. The two bodies wero brought out of the pit at half-past twelve, or five hours ana a half after the accident. They were wrapped up in oiled canvas and conveyed to their homes upon ambulances, followed by a procession of thousands of persons. Three stretchers had been taken down the pit because it was not certain how many men had been killed. One of the wrecked cages was lifted out of the pit about two hours after the calamity. It was crushed and doubled up, and the heavy iron plates were twisted and torn. The cage in which the hapless fellows had been let down was raised three hours later, but it was not damaged nearly so badly as the other. Four or five of the safety lamps of the poor fellows lay scattered about the floor. The number of guides to the pit is four, two for each cage. It is stated that at most other collieries the number is three or four to each cage. The pit will probably be idle for several days.

 

1st July 1892, The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman’s News “THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT AT FERNHILL. On Thursday afternoon an inquest was held at Tynewydd Inn (before Mr Rhys, coroner for the district), touching the death of Urbane Phillips and Richard Williams, who wore killed on Tuesday by the ascending and descending carriages colliding in the No. 2 Pit of the Fernhill Colliery, and throwing them down the shaft.—The father of Phillips and the father-in-law of Williams were the identifying witnesses, from whose evidence it appears that Philips, who leaves a widow and two children, was only 21 years of age, and Williams, also married, only 22.- After hearing the evidence the Coroner summed up, and the jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death."— It was given in evidence that the bottom of the same guide unravelled, and the part was cut off on Sunday.”

 

6th October 1893, The Pontypridd Chronicle and Workman’s News “Stealing Coal at Fernhill. Lizzie Morgan, Evan Morgan, Mary Jane Jones and Rachel Martha Thomas, were summoned before the Ystrad magistrates on Monday charged with stealing 150 lbs of coal value 1 shilling from the tips; of the Blaenrhondda Colliery Company. — P.C. Demayne said that they carried away the coal in sacks and buckets and he had cautioned them several times. The defendants, four little children said they had gone for the coal because they had no fire in the house and could not get coal. They were all cautioned and fined 1/6 each.”

 

15th October 1904, Welsh Newspapers “COLLIERY FATALITIE. Mr Llewellyn Reece also held an inquest into the death of David Morcan (28). haulier, who Jived at 4. Blaencwm-terrace, Tynewydd, and who died on the 11th inst. at Cardiff Infirmary. At Fernhill Colliery on the night of July 5th some stone fell on him. John Lord, the overman at the colliery, said that the night before the accident he examined the place where the accident occurred and found it all tight. Double timbers were not needed, and be could not account for the stone falling. Dr. Brownlee said deceased sustained fracture of the spine, the jury returned a verdict of Accidental death." Mr Yorath appeared for the owner" of the Fernhill Colliery, and Mr F. A. Gray, H.M. Inspector of Mines, represented the Home Office at both inquiries.”

 

20th August 1910, Welsh Newspaper “STRUCK BY A STONE AT FERN- HILL COLLIERY. Mr R. J. Rhys, coroner, held an inquiry at Treherbert on Monday regarding the death of John Evans, an underground workman, who was killed by a heavy stone falling from the roof at the Fernhill Colliery Level on Thursday. It appeared from the evidence that the fatality was purely accidental, and a verdict was returned accordingly.”

 

August 1921 sinking commenced on the No5 shaft to access the bottom measures, as of 1950 the shaft was 271 yards deep, on closure the shaft was 412.8 yards deep.

 

A further underground exploratory staple shaft was sunk from the 4’-0” Seam, the depth of which was 157.3m with a further boring of another 42.4m, the date of this sinking is not recorded on the abandonment plans.

 

In the 1950’s under reconstruction proposals the No5 shaft was to be deepened from 271 yards to 445 yards, the shaft was 20ft in diameter and was fitted out with skip winding. The No4 Shaft was deepened from 297 yards to 410 yards and enlarged from 12ft to 20ft diameter and used for manriding and materials.

 

1966 – the No1, 2 and 4 shafts were closed, leaving shafts 3 and 5, which were linked to Tower Colliery, after which all coal was raised at Tower Colliery.

 

The Colliery was closed in 1966, with the reserves in the 7ft&5ft Seam being later worked by Tower colliery, where the workings in the V35 face came with 427m of the No 5 shaft.

 

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