THE GELLIGAER COALFIELD AND ITS PIONEERS

From Gelligaer Journal Vol. XI published 1976/7

There is little of an industrial background to be observed in the village of Nelson in neighbouring Llanfabon, as is to be seen in other such South Wales villages except, perhaps, for some derelict railway junction buildings and long disused quarries. It has the appearance of a quiet agricultural centre which indeed it has been for many years with its farmers' weekly mart, but could now best be described as a dormitory for employment in surrounding places.

Neither was there much to disturb the pastoral scene of the Caeach valley in the early days of the 18th century. The nearest industrial venture to Nelson in 1767 (when Anthony Bacon needed to repair the Pont Saeson bridge for the passage of his products from Merthyr to Cardiff) was a small mine at Tonteilwr Farm near the Collier's Arms, an inn which probably had its appellation from this activity.

This appeared to be the only instance of the presence of industry and another half century was to pass before an entrepreneur, entirely unrelated to the area, opened a mine at the Wern in Nelson. Born in Eardiston, Worcestershire, in 1798 Sir Christopher Sidney Smith, baronet, had some interests in coal measures there and, aware of the industrial awakening in South Wales, he arrived to commence his operations early in the 19th century.

When he arrived in Nelson the only route for vehicular traffic, other than a new turnpike road from Ystrad Mynach, was an old parish track that came down Heol Fawr and proceeded along Commercial Street and High Street in the direction of Quakers' Yard and Merthyr Tydfil, the streets which today are lined with the oldest dwellings of the village.

he one commercial possibility of transporting his coal was the Glamorganshire Canal which lay some two miles to the west and to connect with this Smith laid a tramroad from the Wern to the Canal.

In later years this route became the inter valley highway A472 alongside which were built the houses of Dynevor Terrace. The tramway continued to the junction known as Fiddler's Elbow, from which the canal was reached by means of a steep incline. It must have been a costly undertaking for a small mine but that it was productive by the standards of its time is shown in the tonnages of coal carried in the long boats to Cardiff. In the year 1830 of a total of 113,749 tons conveyed on the canal, 18,246 tons or nearly 17%, came down Sir Sidney Smith's tramroad and a few years later the tramway carried 90,000 tons, or almost one third of all the coal traffic of the canal.

Thomas Powell had arrived in Gelligaer in 1828 to open his Gelliargwellt Level and it was this activity, on the Gelligaer side of the Caeach, that was chiefly responsible for this vast increase of carriage. Since 1810 Powell had been operating a mine at Llanhilleth and now, in his fiftieth year, he was to start a dynamic career which lasted 35 years to result in the formation of the greatest commercial combine of collieries the world had ever known.

The high cost of transporting his coal from Llanhilleth to the docks at Newport, and its effect on port selling prices, rather than any thought then of expansion, was probably the reason for his move to Gelligaer. The Monmouthshire canal was worked for the main purpose of shareholders' profit and the cost of carriage of coal, at 1½d. per ton mile, resulted in a selling price at Newport of 7s 3d. a ton. On the other hand a charge of 1d. per ton mile on the Glamorganshire canal enabled the operator to sell at 6s 6d. a ton at Cardiff.

To make use of the tramroad, Powell made a connecting rail from his level to join Sir Sidney Smith's at the Wern. The latter's activities now ceased and he retired to Devon where he died in 1839 at the age of 41 years. Smith had also ceased to occupy a canal side plot of land at Abercynon Basin which he had rented from the canal company and this, and the tramroad, were taken over by Thomas Powell.

Other enterprises in Gelligaer, at Tophill and Llancaeach, began to augment outputs and to present a network of connecting tramways through the erstwhile quiet village. A firm known as Duncan and Company laid a tramline from Llancaeach which provided a foundation for a later day Station Road. This was met in front of the handball court by a line laid from Tophill by Robert Beaumont, running along the frontage of the Square Cottages, and from there both tracks ran as one to the site of Mr. Richard's garage, there to join the main tramway put down by Sir Sidney Smith. East of the Tyler's Arms, the firm of Duncan drove a level and their tramway met the main artery at the west end of what is now Dynevor Terrace.

To apportion the charges payable by these various users a weighbridge was placed at Tai Machine, a little distance down the road, its site and that of the weighers' cottages now having disappeared in later developments.

In its heyday, it was the scene of much activity when as many as 63 'journeys' weekly, averaging 48 tons each and pulled by teams of six horses, passed over the weighing machine.

Whilst the destruction of the weighbridge resulted in the final disappearance of industrial activity in the village of Nelson, on the Gelligaer side of the dividing Caeach stream, there are still to be found a number of remains of this early mining era.

An area of pit soil now covers the site of Thomas Powell's Gelligaer Colliery, known for many years as Powell's Works, and nothing remains of the surface buildings and adjacent cottages of the undertaking sunk after the working of Gelliargwellt Level. Powell's Works became prominent in its time; it was the biggest of its kind and it was because of its production that Cardiff surpassed all other exporting docks to become world famous for that activity. In an industry notorious for its poor labour relations and periodical depressions, Powell faced many difficulties. A three year depression from 1830 was followed by another in 1840 when a reduction in wage rates resulted in a ten week strike.

A further proposed reduction in 1843 led to yet another strike and a recruiting of workmen from Dowlais resulted in a riotous assembly that required the presence of Captain Napier, the county's chief constable, and a number of his officers.

Faced too. with increasing natural problems in ventilation and the accumulation of water in a pit sunk beside the Nelson 'bog' Powell, a man of foresight, sold out early in the to George Worthington, of nearby Llancaeach Colliery.

Until 1849, Powell's Works had been ventilated by means of a fire shaft sunk near Gelliargwellt Uchaf Farm where, in a hollow, stood some cottages known as "Pen pwll".

William Brunton of Newcastle, an ingenious inventor of mining equipment, advertised on the 28th October, 1848, a ventilator which was a modification of a fan already in existence and the first application of his new machine was made on the 4th May, 1849, before a number of distinguished engineers, at the Gelligaer Colliery. The new machine was not entirely satisfactory and was not afterwards kept in constant operation and, three months later, Powell had it removed to his Duffryn (Aberdare) Colliery which had suffered an explosion.

From George Worthington the mine was transferred to the Gelligaer Colliery Company who worked it in conjunction with the Llancaeach Colliery under the general management of Mr. Whitfield Ralph. But Mr. Powell's earlier anticipation of the troubles to be expected from water were to prove correct. In 1869 the company installed some of the heaviest pumping plant and machinery ever erected in connection with mining operations. A Cornish engine, to raise the waters of the Gelligaer and the Llancaeach Collieries, amounting to 1350 gallons a minute from a depth of 104 yards, was supplied by Messrs. Loam and Son of Liskeard in connection with Messrs. Harvey and Company of Hayle, at a cost of £2,400.

The cost of operating the pits must have presented great financial difficulties. In March 1879, an application was made for the winding up of the company but a presiding judge was apparently satisfied that the company's resources were fluent enough to meet commitments, for he dismissed the application. But operational problems continued and eight years later, on a day in May, 1887, the manager received instructions for the immediate closure of the pit. Men and tools were withdrawn and the mine ceased to operate. Nature had won a long fought battle.

The material for this short article has been extracted from extensive notes compiled by Mr. Howard Meyrick and it is earnestly hoped that a comprehensive work on this absorbing subject will be published by Mr. Meyrick in the near future

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