Blue Plaque Celebrates First Cynon Valley Colliery - 6 Gorff 2010

Blue Plaque Celebrates First Cynon Valley Colliery

Abernant y Groes was remembered at a special ceremony led by Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf Cllr Simon Lloyd as the starting point of the industrialisation of this part of the county borough.

The site became the first deep mine sunk for the production and marketing of coal on a commercial scale in 1837 by pioneer Thomas Wayne whose father was the developer of the famed Gadlys Ironworks – another location which has also been remembered with a Blue Plaque and is now home to Cynon Valley Museum & Gallery.

The location of the former colliery in Cwmbach is now occupied by a building used by the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association in Wales. Major Peter Mullings MBE of the Association expressed the pleasure and privilege the Association felt in being involved in the project.

Officers and cadets from the Aberdare Detachment of Glamorgan Army Cadet Force were in attendance and were able to learn about the historical significance of the site that they visit every week for their cadet activities

Members of the Cynon Valley Historical Society, who supported the nomination for a Blue Plaque, also attended the unveiling and Chairman David Leslie Davie expressed his pleasure at remembering a site which effectively saw the beginning of the "modern world" in the Cynon Valley.

Former miner Graham Williams, who began work underground in Aberaman at the age of 15, spoke on behalf of miners past and present who had been associated with mining in the Cynon Valley throughout the decades. Mr Williams is currently a guide at the Rhondda Heritage Park in Trehafod.

Cllr Lloyd explained, "It is fitting that the site is recognised as the first deep mine in this valley to reflect on its great coal mining past.

"The Blue Plaque Scheme has been a tremendously successful venture as we remember the people, places and events which have helped mold Rhondda Cynon Taf and ensure our place on the world stage.

"Abernant y Groes is such a location and we remain indebted to all those people involved in the scheme over the past few years who have worked tirelessly in their aims to highlight our proud history."

Sunk in 1827 was sunk by Thomas Wayne, the son of Matthew Wayne whose career began in the employment of the Crawshays of Cyfarthfa. His first venture as an entrepreneur was with Crawshay Bailey at Nantyglo. Thereafter he shifted his attention to Aberdare and developed the Gadlys Ironworks. By then his economic activity in Merthyr had largely ceased.

Thomas Wayne persuaded his father and elder brother that an attempt should be made to reach the famous four foot seam of steam coal. They believed this seam could be found at Cwmbach and made an agreement with the owners of the Abernant y Groes estate to sink a pit and work any coal found as a result of this venture.

Sinking of the Abernant y Groes Colliery – later known as Cwmbach Pit – began in June 1837 and by December of that year they had sunk the 60 foot shaft. The people involved with the venture formed Wayne’s Merthyr-Aberdare Steam Coal Company and coal from the colliery was soon being exhibited for sale in London. The company proved a huge success until its eventual closure in 1895.

For almost three years Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Libraries & Museums Service has been working closely with various voluntary organisations and individuals to determine 30 sites in the county borough as yet unrecognized for their historical background with the placing of a Blue Plaque

Due to £49,200 of Heritage Lottery funding, the project has set out to identify icons, events and buildings, culminating in the placing of blue plaques to commemorate their history

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