IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Cross Street, NEW TREDEGAR, NP24 6EG

The coal boom of the 19th century hit the Rhymney Valley just as it did the rest of the South Wales Valleys, and within just a few years it had transformed the quiet hamlet of White Rose into the busy mining town of New Tredegar. The town was named after Lord Tredegar, who owned the land upon which it stood. One of the first of the modern "super pits" to be sunk in the Rhymney Valley was Elliot Colliery. The mine was owned by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd and was named after George Elliot, one of the men who founded Powell Duffryn. Elliot Colliery had 2 shafts. The West shaft was approximately 402m deep (1320 feet) and work began to sink the shaft in 1883, taking 23 months. The East shaft was approximately 484m deep (1590 feet) and its sinking began in 1888, taking 15 months. By 1891, the new winding engine at the East Shaft had begun raising coal. During its peak, prior to the First World War, Elliot Colliery produced over a million tons of coal per year and employed around 2 800 people. Many experts at the time, described its coal as being of the best quality. Elliot Colliery’s surface plant and buildings included lamp rooms, explosive stores, workshops, the washery, railway sidings and in later years, a canteen and baths. Below this was a complex network of tunnels and roadways leading to and from the coalface. The colliery closed in 1967. Its buildings were demolished and machinery sold or scrapped. Fortunately the East Winding House and its Thornewill and Warham steam engine survived. The Grade II* listed winding house and Victorian winding engine form the centre-piece to the Winding House museum.

The coal boom of the 19th century hit the Rhymney Valley just as it did the rest of the South Wales Valleys, and within just a few years it had transformed the quiet hamlet of White Rose into the busy mining town of New Tredegar. The town was named after Lord Tredegar, who owned the land upon which it stood. One of the first of the modern "super pits" to be sunk in the Rhymney Valley was Elliot Colliery. The mine was owned by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd and was named after George Elliot, one of the men who founded Powell Duffryn. Elliot Colliery had 2 shafts. The West shaft was approximately 402m deep (1320 feet) and work began to sink the shaft in 1883, taking 23 months. The East shaft was approximately 484m deep (1590 feet) and its sinking began in 1888, taking 15 months. By 1891, the new winding engine at the East Shaft had begun raising coal. During its peak, prior to the First World War, Elliot Colliery produced over a million tons of coal per year and employed around 2 800 people. Many experts at the time, described its coal as being of the best quality. Elliot Colliery’s surface plant and buildings included lamp rooms, explosive stores, workshops, the washery, railway sidings and in later years, a canteen and baths. Below this was a complex network of tunnels and roadways leading to and from the coalface. The colliery closed in 1967. Its buildings were demolished and machinery sold or scrapped. Fortunately the East Winding House and its Thornewill and Warham steam engine survived. The Grade II* listed winding house and Victorian winding engine form the centre-piece to the Winding House museum.

The coal boom of the 19th century hit the Rhymney Valley just as it did the rest of the South Wales Valleys, and within just a few years it had transformed the quiet hamlet of White Rose into the busy mining town of New Tredegar. The town was named after Lord Tredegar, who owned the land upon which it stood. One of the first of the modern "super pits" to be sunk in the Rhymney Valley was Elliot Colliery. The mine was owned by the Powell Duffryn Steam Coal Company Ltd. and was named after George Elliot, one of the men who founded Powell Duffryn. Elliot Colliery had 2 shafts. The West shaft was approximately 402m deep (1320 feet) and work began to sunk the shaft in 1883, taking 23 months. The East shaft was approximately 484m deep(1590 feet ) and its sinking began in 1888, taking 15 months . By 1891, the new winding engine at the East Shaft had begun raising coal. During its peak, prior to the First World War, Elliot Colliery produced over a million tons of coal per year and employed around 2 800 people. Many experts at the time, described its coal as being of the best quality. Elliot Colliery’s surface plant and buildings included lamp rooms, explosive stores, workshops, the washery, railway sidings and in later years, a canteen and baths. Below this was a complex network of tunnels and roadways leading to and from the coalface. The colliery closed in 1967. Its buildings were demolished and machinery sold or scrapped. Fortunately the East Winding House and its Thornewill and Warham steam engine survived. The Grade II* listed winding house and Victorian winding engine form the centre-piece to the Winding House museum.

A restored engine dating from 1891. For a picture before the restoration see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/731603 . The small opening at the top of the far wall is where the cables passed through to the wheel on top of the mine shaft tower. For a reconstruction of this see the footbridge http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/504024 adjacent to the winding house. The colliery closed in 1967.

The diabolo winding drum. For another picture with a description of the engine, see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1687557 .

The museum site, refurbished in 2008, is a mixture of old and new buildings. The museum records the history, heritage and culture of Caerphilly County Borough. It is on part of the site of Elliot Colliery which closed in 1967.

The engine driver's seat, controls and gauges.

This was the winding house for the east shaft of the colliery. The house and enclosed engine http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3102757 are Grade II* Listed.

This is the former Elliot Colliery's East Pit winding engine. It is now preserved. It was built as a horizontal duplex steam winding engine in 1891 by Thornewill & Warham of Burton-on-Trent. It was modified in 1904 when high pressure cylinders were added to make it a twin tandem compound. This view shows the engine's most interesting feature - a diabolo drum with a central parallel section 15' diameter connected by a spiral to two outer parallel sections 26' diameter. The brake operates on the outer sections. There is only one other drum of this type in the UK and it is dismantled and in storage.

Unrestored horizontal twin tandem compound winding engine by Thornewill & Warham. Built as a duplex in 1891 with Cornish valve cylinders and tandem compounded in 1904 by the same company with Corliss valve HP cylinders. This engine has now been restored and made publicly accessible (temporarily closed - to reopen later in 2008).