Forgeside

Forgeside and Big Pit from the air

Forgeside Ironworks, 1922

Forgeside and Big Pit, c1950

Forgeside Ironworks, c1960

Aaron Brutes bridge - SO 2485 0880
Aaron Brutes level - SO 2480 0880

Aaron Brutes bridge is one of the oldest cast-iron bridges in the world, dating from 1812. The level just beyond it mined iron ore for the works and closed in 1843. By 2009 the bridge was unsafe but was restored and re-opened in 2013. It carried a tramroad from the level to the ironworks. Underneath the bridge is a small drainage level.

Aaron Brutes bridge restored	Aaron Brutes bridge restored	Aaron Brute's Bridge	Aaron Brute's Bridge
Aaron Brute's Bridge	Aaron Brute's Bridge	Aaron Brute's Bridge	Aaron Brute's Bridge
Aaron Brute's drainage adit	Aaron Brute's drainage level	Aaron Brutes ironstone level	Aaron Brutes ironstone level

Johnsons (or Winstone) Colliery - SO 2484 0786
Forgeside Powerhouse - SO 2426 0861

Johnsons (or Winstone) Colliery, was a working colliery, not in general use but the subject of exploratory work during 2010. Forgeside Powerhouse was the original powerhouse for the Forgeside complex. the brick-built building is still in industrial use and dates from the 1920s. Next to it is the Forge Pond and a lot of foundations.

Johnsons Mine, Forgeside	Johnsons Mine, Forgeside	Johnsons Mine, Forgeside	Johnsons Mine, Forgeside
Building at Johnson's Mine	Forgeside Level, Blaenavon	Forgeside Level drainage channel	Forgeside North, Blaenavon
Forgeside South, Blaenavon	Forgeside powerhouse, Blaenavon	Forgeside powerhouse, Blaenavon	Forgeside powerhouse, Blaenavon
Forgeside powerhouse, Blaenavon	Forgeside powerhouse, Blaenavon	Forgeside retaining wall	LNWR bridge and 'extra' arch
The ruins of Coity Ganol	Forgeside as it was

Big Pit and the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

Big Pit - SO 2383 0880

Big Pit and its surroundings today

Blaenavon Ironworks 'Nora No 5'	Blaenavon Ironworks 'Nora No 5'	Blaenavon Ironworks 'Nora No 5'	Powell Duffryn loco No 10
Narrow gauge wagons	Narrow gauge wagons	Standard gauge wagons	Standard gauge wagons
Hunslet loco HE6049 of 1961	Big Pit workshops	Big Pit workshops	Big Pit water balance
Big Pit, Dodds Slope incline	Big Pit, Dodds Slope	Big Pit, Dodds Slope	Big Pit bridge over LNWR
Coke ovens bridge abutments	Coke ovens bridge abutments	Coke ovens bridge,c1950s

Big Pit after closure

Andy Coldridge took these photos of Big Pit shortly after it closed so either 1981 or 1982.

Big Pit after closure, c1981 or 1982	Big Pit after closure, c1981 or 1982	Big Pit after closure, c1981 or 1982
Big Pit after closure, c1981 or 1982	Big Pit after closure, c1981 or 1982

Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway

PBR 71515	PBR 71515	PBR 71515
PBR 'Brookfield'	PBR D4157	PBR depot and washery
PBR industrial locos	PBR depot	Big Pit washery

Working railways around Big Pit

Alan Murray-Rust took these photos of the railways around Big Pit during 1968 and 1969.

'Toto No 6' near Big Pit 1969	Railways around Big Pit, 1969	'Toto No 6' near Big Pit 1969	'Toto No 6' near Big Pit 1969
'Toto No 6' near Big Pit, 1969	'Nora No 5' on shed, 1969	'Toto No 6' on shed, 1969	'Toto No 6' on shed, 1967

Blaentillery No 2 Colliery

A derelict colliery in January 2014 - SO 2350 0818

Sadly, over the four years since my last visit, work has ceased, the levels have been blocked and the surface facilities have been stripped and vandalised.

Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery

A working colliery in March 2010

Two levels and interesting selection of old drams, this is the colliery featured in the filming of the BBC's 'Coalhouse' series.

Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery

Below the surface in 2012

An underground visit just after work ceased and the levels sealed.

Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery
Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery	Blaentillery Colliery

Coity Quarry to Whistle Inn

Coity Quarry - SO 2330 0830

Coity sandstone quarry was working by 1844 supplying stone for the ironworks, housing and collieries in the area and had closed by the mid-1880s. The prominent incline ran down through Coity Colliery to the Ironworks and coke ovens, the upper half closing with the quarry. The lower half continued until 1900 to serve the colliery, which was incorporated into Big Pit, becoming its upcast shaft. In the quarry are the remains of the brake wheel mechanism and other ironmongery, including a cast cog on the end of a wooden shaft. Next to the drum are a pair of rails leading from the drum to the tips and a fenced airshaft with a pulley hoist over it, which was connected to a level just below the quarry.

Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry incline
Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry incline	Coity Quarry, Blaenavon
Coity Quarry airshaft	Coity Quarry winding drum	Coity Quarry winding drum	Coity Quarry winding drum
Coity Quarry winding drum	Coity Quarry winding drum	Coity Quarry winding drum	Coity Quarry rails
Coity Quarry ironwork	Coity Quarry ironwork

Coity Farm, level and reservoir - SO 2337 0928

Coity Farm was possibly medieval but the 'leftovers' are from C18th but considerably changed over the years.
An old level is shown on OS maps next to the farm, a very small level still exists in 2010, possibly just a drainage level from the coal levels above it.
A pond formed the basis of the 1861 reservoir supplying water to the Forgeside blast furnaces.

Coity Farm, Blaenavon	Coity Farm, Blaenavon	Coity Farm drainage level	Coity Farm drainage level
Coity Farm drainage level	Coity Farm drainage level	Coity reservoir, Blaenavon	Coity reservoir from Cefn Coch

'Robens Folly' or Blaentillery Drift - SO 2315 0860

All that's left of the 1966 Blaentillery No 1 Level, known as 'Roben's Folly', is the very top of the entrance, the rest is buried beneath your feet. It was begun in 1966 and finished and abandoned in 1967. It was a 'folly' because it found no workable coal at all, just a lot of water. The level goes right through the mountain to Abertillery where the other end can be seen on the hillside at Blaentillery.

Blaentillery 1966 Level in 1967	Blaentillery 1966 Level in 1967
Blaentillery 1966 Level in 1990	Blaentillery 1966 Level in 2011	Blaentillery 1966 Level in 2011

ADWB pipeline tunnel - SO 2291 0937

The Abertillery and District Water Board (ADWB) pipeline from Grwynne Fawr Reservoir to Abertillery enters the Coity Mountain here. The tunnel was built between 1912 and 1915 and is just short of a mile long. The gated concrete entrance and tips from excavation are easily found. I'm told there's a stop valve on top of Coity Mountain and, of course, there's the other end to find somewhere near Blaentillery farm.

ADWB pipeline tunnel tips	ADWB pipeline tunnel tips	ADWB pipeline tunnel	ADWB pipeline tunnel
ADWB pipeline tunnel	ADWB pipeline tunnel	ADWB pipeline tunnel	ADWB pipeline tunnel tour
ADWB pipeline tunnel tour	ADWB pipeline tunnel tour	ADWB pipeline tunnel tour	ADWB pipeline tunnel tour

Around the Whistle Inn - SO 2289 1010

Ty Rheinallt Farm (SO 2325 0960) was a c19th farmhouse, abandoned in 1967 due to subsidence. Next to it is a filled-in airshaft, possibly once ventilating the Garn Pits.

Ty Rheinallt Farm, Coity	Ty Rheinallt Farm airshaft	Field Farm, Whistle Lane	Field Farm, Whistle Lane
Waunavon Slope ironstone mine	Waunavon Slope ironstone mine	Waunavon Slope ironstone mine	Whistle Inn area from above
Whistle Inn halt	Whistle Inn halt	Whistle Lane bridge	Whistle Lane underbridge
Coity footpath fence posts	Pwrcas Cottages - SO 2283 1022 A single cottage is shown on the 1841 tithe map. What remains is more modern, c19th, but it has deteriorated badly from 2010 to 2021, losing its roof and upper floor.	Pwrcas Cottages, Whistle Lane	Pwrcas Cottages, Whistle Lane

Whistle Inn to Waunavon

The LNWR between Whistle Inn and Wauavon.

Aqueduct over the LNWR	Aqueduct over the LNWR	Aqueduct over the LNWR	Aqueduct over the LNWR
LNWR trackbed	LNWR trackbed	LNWR trackbed	LNWR sidings for Milfraen Colliery

Opencast workings - SO 2208 1094

The area opposite the Milfraen railway was the 'Black Lion' disposal point for the opencast coal workings on Cefn Garnyrerw in the early 1950s and again in 1972.

Opencast loading area, Waunavon	Opencast buildings, Waunavon	Opencast loading area, Waunavon	Opencast loading area, Waunavon
Opencast loading area, Waunavon	Opencast loading area, Waunavon	Opencast loading area, Waunavon	Opencast culvert

Marquess Red Ash and Milfraen Colliery

Marquess Red Ash Colliery - SO 2084 0963

Marquess Red Ash Colliery was opened by 1902 and shown as disused by 1922. The site consists of tips, old rails and stonework with the drainage level and the incline to Mifraen Colliery in amongst the bracken below.

Marquess Red Ash Colliery, 1915	Marquess Red Ash Colliery levels	Marquess Red Ash Colliery tips	Tramway from Milfraen Colliery
Tramway to Milfraen Colliery	Tramway to lower level	Marquess Red Ash drainage level	Marquess Red Ash drainage level
Marquess Red Ash drainage level	Marquess Red Ash Colliery	Marquess Red Ash Colliery	Marquess Red Ash Colliery
Marquess Red Ash Colliery	Marquess Red Ash Colliery

Milfraen Colliery - SO 2179 1010

Milfraen Colliery opened in c1845, was rebuilt in 1865 and closed in 1933 following an explosion in 1929. It was retained for ventilation until the mid 1930s. The area has been cleared but the site of the shaft, foundations and earthworks remain.

Milfraen Colliery, 1915	Milfraen Colliery reservoir	Milfraen Colliery reservoir	Milfraen Colliery reservoir
Milfraen reservoir outlet valve	Milfraen Colliery engine house	Milfraen Colliery engine house	Milfraen Colliery engine house
Milfraen Colliery engine house	Milfraen Colliery engine house		Milfraen Colliery tramplate
Milfraen Colliery foundations	Milfraen Colliery foundations	Milfraen Colliery foundations	Milfraen Colliery ruins
Milfraen Colliery headgear base	Milfraen Colliery headgear base	Milfraen Colliery shafts	Milfraen Colliery shafts
Milfraen Colliery shafts	Milfraen Colliery shafts	Milfraen Colliery shaft	Milfraen Colliery shaft
Milfraen Colliery tips	Milfraen Colliery from Cefn Coch	Milfraen Colliery general view	Milfraen Colliery site from South

Milfraen Colliery railway

The railway to Milfraen Colliery was a branch off the LNWR Blaenavon to Brynmawr railway. It opened in 1871, closed with the colliery in 1933 and was lifted in 1937. The line crossed the bog between the LNWR and the colliery on a solidly built formation, however the lowest point always seems to be flooded. There were sidings adjacent to Waunavon Station, later used by the opencast disposal point.

Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery LNWR junction	Milfraen Colliery LNWR junction
Milfraen Colliery LNWR junction	Milfraen Colliery branch	Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway
Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway
Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery railway	Milfraen Colliery branch	Milfraen Colliery branch

Waunavon

Waunavon and the LNWR line to Brynmawr

Windy, bitter and just a hint of sleet - What better a day for exploring the area around Waunavon? Soon got cold, wet and fed up so went home !! I'll have to go back and finish the job later ! The area includes many small mines including New Clydach Slope Colliery, Llammarch Slope Colliery, Waunavon Slope Colliery and two generations of Clydach Collieries.

Waunavon Station dram	Waunavon Station dram	LNWR Brynmawr line trackbed	LNWR Brynmawr line trackbed
Overbridge abutments	Overbridge and trackbed	Branch to the Llammarch collieries	Branch to the Llammarch collieries
Llammarch sidings junction	Accommodation crossing	The trackbed hits the opencast	A shadow of the trackbed
Along the route to Brynmawr	Along the route to Brynmawr	Along the route to Brynmawr	Along the route to Brynmawr

New Clydach Slope Colliery - SO 2177 1169

The New Clydach Colliery Co Ltd dates from 1887 becoming the Waen Nantyglo Colliery Co Ltd in 1911. Following a cycle of openings and closures, the colliery was finally abandoned in 1947.

Llammarch collieries and sidings	New Clydach Slope Colliery	New Clydach Slope Colliery
New Clydach Slope Colliery	New Clydach Slope Colliery incline	New Clydach Slope Colliery incline
New Clydach Slope Colliery incline	Fragment of a tramplate	Fragment of a tramplate

Waun Pwll Dwr levels - SO 2146 1116

The five or more levels around Waun Pwll Dwr first appear to have been worked from 1927 to 1930. They re-appear in 1937 owned by the matthews family until final abandonment in 1960.

Waun Pwll Dwr level incline	Waun Pwll Dwr level incline	Waun Pwll Dwr level incline foot	Waun Pwll Dwr level site
Small section rail at the level	Waun Pwll Dwr feeder

Acknowledgments, sources and further reading.

Thanks for the use of his photographs to Andy Coldridge and Alan Murray-Rust.