Coal industry display at County Museum
A display interpreting the coal mining industry in Carmarthenshire is now on show at the County Museum in Abergwili, Carmarthen.
It includes mining equipment and memorabilia, plus a short film about working in the mines and life in Carmarthenshire’s mining valleys.
It includes mining equipment and memorabilia, plus a short film about working in the mines and life in Carmarthenshire’s mining valleys.
Funding was provided by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation and county councillor Terry Davies, who also donated many of the items on display.
Museum Curator Ann Dorsett said: “Coal was mined in Carmarthenshire for centuries and changed the face of the county. Coal mining made the communities of the Gwendraeth and Aman Valleys. Today, it’s hard to see where the mines once were. This display is very informative and will bring back memories for many people whose relatives worked in the mines.”
From 1830 until 1870 many larger mines were sunk in Llanelli. Coal was exported and fed the town’s metal industries, but Llanelli’s mines became worked out by 1928.
Many anthracite collieries were opened in the Amman and Gwendraeth Valleys from the 1870s. Most mines were small.
Museum Curator Ann Dorsett said: “Coal was mined in Carmarthenshire for centuries and changed the face of the county. Coal mining made the communities of the Gwendraeth and Aman Valleys. Today, it’s hard to see where the mines once were. This display is very informative and will bring back memories for many people whose relatives worked in the mines.”
From 1830 until 1870 many larger mines were sunk in Llanelli. Coal was exported and fed the town’s metal industries, but Llanelli’s mines became worked out by 1928.
Many anthracite collieries were opened in the Amman and Gwendraeth Valleys from the 1870s. Most mines were small.
The biggest was the Great Mountain Colliery in Tumble, which opened in 1887.
Men moved to the two valleys to work, some as miners during the week and farmers at weekends. Houses were built and villages stretched out along the valleys.
Cross Inn village became Ammanford town.
In 1935 Carmarthenshire’s collieries employed 14,700 men. During World War II Bevin Boys were conscripted to work in the pits.
Many mining jobs were lost from 1945, as smaller pits closed and bigger collieries, using cutting machines, were opened.
In 1935 Carmarthenshire’s collieries employed 14,700 men. During World War II Bevin Boys were conscripted to work in the pits.
Many mining jobs were lost from 1945, as smaller pits closed and bigger collieries, using cutting machines, were opened.
Cynheidre was one of these, in 1972 it employed 1,430 people and produced 472,000 tons of anthracite coal. In 1978 the Betws New Drift Mine reopened the Ammanford No 1 Colliery, which had closed in 1925, and employed around 700 people during the 1980s.
The National Pit Strike of 1984–85 marked the beginning of the end of Carmarthenshire’s coal industry. Cynheidre closed in 1989, Cwmgwili in 1994 and Betws in 2003.
The National Pit Strike of 1984–85 marked the beginning of the end of Carmarthenshire’s coal industry. Cynheidre closed in 1989, Cwmgwili in 1994 and Betws in 2003.
There are no deep coal mines in Carmarthenshire today, although there is still coal beneath the earth.
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