History of the Gwent Collieries

Vivian Colliery Aerial Ropeway. The image shows one of the aerial ropeway standards on the brow of the Arael Mountain. Its concrete foundations can be seen at its base and also Abertillery town in the distance.

Vivian Colliery Aerial Ropeway. The image shows the series of the aerial ropeway standards on the top of the Arael Mountain leading to the return standard. In this image you can see the release lever tipping the buckets along the route.

Vivian Colliery Aerial Ropeway Return Wheel Standard. An image of the aerial ropeway return wheel standard not long after construction, it’s seen being held in place by substantial foundations and tension lines.

Vivian Colliery Aerial Ropeway Return Wheel Standard. The image shows the aerial ropeway terminal return wheel standard covered in waste. This was done to embed it and stabilise the standard for the forces that would be exerted on it with the weight of the ropes, buckets and waste etc over the future years of tipping. Later the buckets were tipped …

The Day the Navy Came to Abertillery – The 1921 Miners Lock-Out.  Late 1920, early 1921, the collieries in the United Kingdom were still under state control following the Great War, the post war boom in coal exports was over and demand for coal was waning, thousands of miners were to lose their jobs and massive pay cuts were to follow, …

The Navigation Colliery – Crumlin. On Thursday 8th of August 1907, it was reported that the directors of the Messrs Partridge, Jones & Company had visited the site at Crumlin in preparation for the start of the sinking of their new colliery the Navigation Colliery at Crumlin. On Friday 9th of August 1907, Messrs Partridge, Jones & Co announced in …

Aberbeeg Colliery (South) There isn’t a great deal of information or many photographs of the Aberbeeg South Colliery (as seen in the image upper right. The colliery on the left was the Crumlin Navigation Colliery). It was late in the sinking operations and seems to be a forgotten pit. The Aberbeeg Collieries Ltd. In January 1924 it was announced in …

The Vivian Colliery Waste Tip Fire. The fire in the waste tip at the Vivian Colliery (as seen in the image) started in about 1892-93. In July 1907 the Gazette Newspaper reported on the fire and said it had been a nuisance over the past years but now after these years it was becoming a health hazard and a put-off …

The Gray Colliery in later years. An image of the Gray Colliery in later years after it was taken over by the Ebbw Vale Company. The headgear was changed and there were then Ebbw Vale Company coal trucks in the sidings.

The Aberbeeg North Colliery  Aberbeeg North Colliery (as seen in the image above) was located on the bank of the river Ebbw Fawr in the Cwm Valley, not far from the Hanbury Hotel, close to where the Fly-Over Garage is today. The Sinking of the Colliery. In 1860 the Aberbeeg North Colliery was established and its sinking began under the …