The Ogmore Valley once had many deep coal mines and numerous levels (drift mines). The deep pits included:
Rhondda Main – sunk in 1914 and closed in 1924
Aber – sunk in approx 1865, closure date unknown
Penllwyngwent – sunk in 1905 and closed in 1969
Wyndham – sunk in 1886 and closed in 1984
Western – sunk in 1887 and closed in 1984
The washery in Ogmore Vale 1986
Western Colliery in Nantymoel in 1982
The winder on the left is encased in a cabin. This is the Kopje System of winding which is the type used in South African mines. This is the only one I ever saw in South Wales.
Wyndham Colliery in the early part of the 20th Century.
Western Colliery in Nantymoel
This is the upcast shaft which was about 500 yards deep.
The washery in Ogmore Vale 1986
A line of trucks that have just come out of the washery and on the way to the power station in Aberthaw.
The washery in Ogmore Vale.
The handles for the windows had mistakenly been put on the outside.
The washery in Ogmore Vale. The pit shaft was just next to this. The waste was sent to the top of the mountain by the aerial ropeway. The slag heaps have all been removed now and have been grassed over.
The washery in Ogmore Vale.
You can see the pylon for the aerial ropeway which took the waste to the top of the mountain.
The pit top at Wyndham Colliery just before it was filled in. The pit’s dog Shep (a stray adopted by the miners) was run over by one of the dumper trucks which was bringing in stuff to fill the shaft. They buried him in the shaft whilst it was being filled in.
Western Colliery, Nantymoel.
Western Colliery, Nantymoel.
Western Colliery, Nantymoel.
Western Colliery, Nantymoel viewed from Wyndham Colliery 1982
Western Colliery, Nantymoel.
Western Colliery, Nantymoel 1982
The washery in Ogmore Vale in 1986 after the strike.
The washery in Ogmore Vale in 1986
You can see the cemetary in the background on the left.
The aerial ropeway in Ogmore Vale in 1986
It took the waste up to the top of the mountain.
The washery in Ogmore Vale in 1986
Wyndham Colliery 1986
Wyndham Colliery 1986
There were men still picketing the colliery as part of the miners’ strike of the 1980s when the shafts had been filled in!
