Ferndale Colliery

Ferndale Colliery was a series of nine coal mines, located close to the village of Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales.

Collieries in Ferndale
Number	Name	Date sunk	Date closed	Shaft Depth	Employment 1908	Employment 1923	Employment 1945	Notes
1	Blaenllechau	1857		200 yards (180 m)	999	1,198	768*	First pit sunk in the Rhondda to work steam coal
2		1870			112	1,032*	Closed	1,540 yards North of No.1, located next to No.4. Closed before the outbreak of World War 2
3	Bodringallt	1864			653		Closed	Bought by David Davies in 1890. Sold to Cory Brothers before 1923
4		1876			632	1,032*	Closed	1,540 yards North of No.1, located next to No.2. Closed before the outbreak of World War 2
5		1889		400 yards (370 m)	1,096	1,089	768*	40 yards North from No.1
6Tylorstown	Pendyrys No.1	1876	1936	464 yards (424 m)	2,912**			40 yards North from No.1
7Tylorstown	Pendyrys No.2	1876	1936	464 yards (424 m)		2,912**
8Tylorstown	Cynllwyn Du	1858	1936	606 yards (554 m)	2,912**			Sunk by Thomas Wayne as Pont y Gwaith in 1858, it was renamed Cynllwyn Du. Closed, it was reopened by David Davies in 1892 to access the Gellideg seam. Extended to a depth of 606 yards, it was the deepest mine in the Rhondda
9Tylorstown		1907	1960	550 yards (500 m)	2,912**

Industrialist businessman David Davies sunk No.1 in 1857, the first pit sunk in the Rhondda to work steam coal. This mine, also known as Blaenllechau, had two shafts each of 200 yards (180 m) deep.

No.3 was sunk in 1864 in the Rhondda Fawr and was known as the Bodringallt, was sunk in 1864, and purchased by Davies in 1890.

No.5 was sunk in 1889 by David Davies & Sons and was situated 40 yards from No.1 at Ferndale, both 400 yards deep.

No.2 and No.4 sunk in 1870 and 1876, about 1500 yards further to the north. They closed before the outbreak of W.W.2.

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Ferndale No.2 and No.4 pits 1911.

David Davies sunk the Ferndale No.1 in 1857. This was the first colliery in the Rhondda Fach opened to work Steam coal. This mine also known as Blaenllechau had two shafts each being 200 yards deep.

On Friday 8th of November 1867 the whole district of Ferndale was shaken by two consecutive explosions.

The manager had just entered the mine and in the ensuing rescue attempt his was one of the first bodies to be discovered. The rescuers were hampered by roof falls and the air was so foul that on times it extinguished the flames in their safety lamps. Eventually with some trepidation the furnace, which powered the ventilation was relit and with the improved ventilation the rescuers could venture further into the mines workings.

Most of the bodies brought to the surface showed signs of severe burning and many were so badly disfigured it made identification impossible.

A month had nearly past before all the remains of the 178 men and boys who perished had been recovered.

At the enquiry the lamp keeper stated during the period prior to the explosion lamps returned to him often showed signs of being tampered with and he added that he had reported these incidents that breached the company's rules to the manager.

The jury concluded: - "We believe the explosion took place, first - in consequence of a great accumulation of gas in certain workings of the colliery, and this accumulation we attribute to the neglect of Mr. Williams the manager and his subordinate officers, second - by this gas being fired by one or more of the colliers carelessly taking off the tops of their lamps and working with naked lights.".

Just seventeen months later on the 10th of June 1869 another explosion occurred at this fated colliery this time killing 53 men and boys.

The conclusion of the inquest criticised the managers of the pit for not implementing all the recommendations made after the 1867 explosion and also criticised the pits ventilation system which they believed did not manage to properly distribute air throughout all the pit.

In 1908 the employment numbers in the Ferndale pits were: -

No. 1 = 999 No. 2 = 112 No. 3 = 653 No. 4 = 632 No. 5 =1,096 Tylorstown pits 6,7,8,and 9 were also known as Ferndale pits.

Later Cory Brothers took over the Ferndale No.3 and restored its original name Bodringallt.

In 1923 there were 1,198 men employed at No. 1 pit, working the Two Feet Nine, Four Feet, Bute, Yard seams. Nos.2 and 4 pits employed 1,032 men producing coal and ironstone from the Five Feet, Yard, Bute and Gellideg (No. 2 pit) and from the Four Feet, Six Feet and Red (No. 4 pit) No. 5 employed 1,089 men working the Five Feet, Bute and Gellideg seams.

By 1945 the Ferndale pits Nos. 1 & 5 employed a total of 768 men.

It closed in 1959. all images copyright

Ferndale Nos. 1 and 5 pits all images copyright

Ferndale No.1, depicted at the time of the first explosion, 1867.

Interesting note: On 13th February 1908 a fatal accident occured at No.5 pit Ferndale Colliery, Tylorstown.

The man who was killed was ex Private Thomas Chester, who 29 years earlier had been present, and was one of the defenders, during the attack on Rorke's Drift by thousands of Zulu warriors in the Anglo Zulu war. The defence, for which 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded took place on 22nd 23rd January 1879, as depicted in the film Zulu.

Report from the Inspector of Mines. "Thomas Chester, 55, Coal Trimmer. Deceased was breaking up a lump of coal, which had fallen onto the empty road leading to No.1 pit screens, when he was knocked down by a wagon, which was being lowered towards the screens. Deceased had stood one side to allow two wagons to pass, but was not aware that others were to follow."

Disasters

Two large colliery disasters occurred in Ferndale during the 19th century. On 8 November 1867, an underground explosion at No.1 killed 178 miners. Secondly, on 10 June 1869 an explosion at No.1 resulted in the death of 53 miners.

On 13 February 1908, former Private Thomas Chester, who 29 years earlier had been one of the defenders during the Battle of Rorke's Drift by thousands of Zulu warriors, was killed in the railway sidings of the coal washery at No.5 pit. After allowing a number of wagons to pass, he stepped onto the railway tracks, and was run over by some addtional wagons that he did not see.

External links

• Ferndale Collieries at BBC Wales
• Ferndale Collieries @ WelshCoalMines.co.uk
• Ferndale Collieries at Rhondda Cynon Taf