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The Glyn Pits, Near Pontypool, c. 1905.
Capel Hanbury Leigh sunk the Glyn Pits in the early 1840’s to a depth of 190 yards.
The Glyn pits was one of the first collieries to use steam powered winding engines.
During 1852 a local syndicate took over the mine, but they held it only until 1855 when another group of men, Messrs. Lewick, Brown, Darby and Robinson became the owners. This group of men were later to become the chief instigators of the Ebbw Vale Iron and Coal Company.
Four men were died as a result of explosion here on June 1st,
1864. The cause was attributed to a length of timber left
propping open an air-door by the young door-boy.
The dead were; Henry Vaux, who died instantly, John Stephens,
John Thomas and William Hill died later of their injuries.
Another two were killed by a roof fall later the same year.
An underground explosion occurred here in January 1890
claiming the lives of five miners. The ensuing fires were so
fierce that the mine had to be flooded. The bodies of the five
miners were never recovered.
They were;
Spear, James, 41, married of Pontnewynydd Turner, Frederick, 39, unmarried, of Tranch Lloyd, David, 29, married, of Nightingale Village Mills, Arthur, 18, married, of Chapel Lane, Pontypool Price, Henry, 18, unmarried, of Bell Inn, Pontypool
Whilst the extensive explosion and fire damage was being repaired, many of the men went to work at the nearby Llanerch colliery, where just nine days later 176 men and boys were killed in another explosion, some of the victims being Glyn miners.
From the Inspector of Mines list 1896 there were only 22 men working at the Glyn pits, producing from the Old coal, Rock vein and Meadow vein coal seams.
An explanation for so few men working at this time, possibly the pit hadn't fully recovered from the damage it received in the disaster of 1890.
By 1908 the workforce numbers had recovered to 353.
In 1909 the Crumlin Valley Collieries Company became the new owners.
From a report 1923, there were 74 men employed, producing Steam and Manufacturing coal from the Droideg seam.
Even though it was a comparatively small colliery during the Glyn's working life 69 men lost their lives there.
It stopped production in 1932, although it was still used as a pumping station for Hafodyrynys until 1960's.
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The photograph on the left shows the vertical steam-winding engine, which had two drums located above loaded with flat ropes. The photograph on the right (1942) is of the Cornish Beam water pump.