In 1994 the pit was shut as an “unviable” one from which coal was regarded as too expensive to extract. Nestled in the Rhigos mountain range, and boasting stunning panoramic views, this adventure hub is situated at the old Tower Colliery coal mining site, and had created a new lease of life for this historic and widely-loved base. Shaft headgear. On 1 January 1947, with the nationalisation of the British coal industry, Tower became owned by the National Coal Board (NCB). This was the worst accident in Tower’s history. A new adrenaline attraction from Zip World at the site of the former Tower Colliery in the Valleys has secured a multi-million-pound loan from the £1.2bn City Deal for the Cardiff Capital Region. The coal was used for domestic heating and for manufacture of the smokeless fuel ‘Phurnacite’. Site works commenced October 1974. Northeast Wales also had its own coalfield and Tower Colliery (closed January 2008) near Hirwaun is regarded by many as the oldest open coal mine and one of the largest in the world. The pit has had recent heavy investment in deepening the shafts and upgrading its winders. Accepted by the workforce and shareholders in an open vote, this decision effectively accepted the end of Tower as a deep mine. Against stiff central government resistance to the possibility of reopening the mine as a coal production unit, a price of £2 million was eventually agreed. The coaster is pencilled in to open in March 2021, coronavirus restrictions dependent, and will be the first of its kind in Europe and potentially the world at that point. Tel: 01902 321000Email: enquiries@wlv.ac.ukMaps and Directions, Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences, University of Wolverhampton Business School, School of Social, Historical & Political Studies, School of Architecture & Built Environment, Executive Education Programmes and Courses. D/C 7.5 m dia. The shaft known as Tower No.4 was sunk from 1941 to 1944, to a depth of 165 yards. Up to 14 seams have been worked at Tower Colliery and the neighbouring mines within the lease area of Tower. An explosion of firedamp occurred at the colliery on 13 April 1962, killing nine men and injuring a further nine. Tabled in the 1993-94 session. Main switchroom. In 1864 the first colliery was established and the first drift mine was dug. The Tower Colliery closed as a deep pit 10 years ago (Image: Richard Swingler) Ten years on from 2008, and Mr O’Sullivan, 72, has spoken of the “incredible” memories of his time at the deep pit. 2002 – General information to BHP staff ex Mine Manager, Frank Hendriks, 20/12/2002; “The entire Tower Colliery workforce, excepting key staff, worked their last shifts on 19th December, 2002.” Recovery of all equipment after the completion of L/W 20 was completed by afternoon shift 19/12/2002. Tower Colliery in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was taken on by 239 staff, each pooling £8,000 redundancy to buy it after it closed in 1994. Future activities limited to the automation of u/g pumping from Appin White Panel. Tower’s No.3 New Drift was driven in 1958–9, connecting to the No.4 workings and becoming the ventilation for the colliery. Appin moves from L/W Area 5 to Douglas District Area 7 with a proposed 300 metre face length planned. Thrill-seekers will embark upon 2 separate zip lines with 4 parallel lines, as you soar your way across the historical coal mining Tower Colliery site. In 1918 there were 679 men employed at Tower. 3,184 likes. 1997 - The original 2.44m diameter raise bore is down-reamed utilising a VRM (vertical reaming machine), a converted tunnel boring machine. During the 1984–5 strike, Tower was famously one of the several south Wales collieries which did not see a single strikebreaker for the duration of the year-long dispute. Recovery of 156 l/w chocks and other equipment to surface by end of October 2002. This face also received a powerful 500hp power-loading machine with two cutting drums. Tower Colliery - stock photo Tower colliery, one of the last surviving deep coal mines in the South Wales Valleys. It was anticipated that the face would have an output of at least 1,200 tonnes per day. The management announced at closure that one of the possibilities of creating additional short term value was through open cast mining extraction of the residual 6m tonnes of anthracite. Renamed: Appin West and amalgamated with Appin Colliery. Bough out by the miners and run for almost 20 years after the government tried to close it down for being 'unprofitable'.Here lies the pit head above the deep shaft. The Colliery, is today owned by RJB who bought it in 1994. There were more than ten miles of underground roadways, incorporating more than seven miles of high-speed belt conveyors. TOWER COLLIERY EDM (Early Day Motion) 747A1: tabled on 10 March 1994 . Miners at Tower Colliery Hirwaun South Wales with pit head in the background. 750kW M&M winder, 180 men, 2 decks at 240 m/min or 10 tonnes at 240 m/min or 35 tonnes at 60 m/min. It became Wales' only working coal mine, and … Top tips to prepare for a virtual open day, University of Wolverhampton philosopher’s paper in “Best of 2020” list, Students launch fan club and design clothing in Mumbai for Wolves FC, University supports local teenagers’ research project, Our thinkers, educators and innovators are on hand to ensure your business continues to thrive during unprecedented times, Artist puts legal graduates in the picture. 2002 – Longwall production record for September, 236,514 tonnes. Ex 1975 Wollongong Symposium. Also from the same list, Tower Colliery, owned by the Marquess of Bute, was producing steam coal with a workforce of 420 men. A third drift was sunk during the 1920’s. The colliery was named Tower after the nearby folly, Crawshay’s Tower. Tower Union Banner (Photograph from National Union of Mineworkers (South Wales Area)). 2 x vertical shafts, 490m deep However, a successful bid for the colliery was made by a buy-out group formed from 239 members of its workforce, who each pooled their £8,000 redundancy payments to constitute the £2 million buy-out fund. In 1878 Tower Colliery was opened by the Bute Trustees. The actual boundaries of the lease were defined either by faults or seam splits in the local geostructure, or excess water to the northwest in the Bute seam. January 25 marks ten years since the closure of Tower Colliery in Hirwaun. From the Inspector of Mines list of 1896, Tower Graig Colliery was discontinued. However, other colliery sites in the area are gradually coming back to life, often as business parks, nature conservation areas or in the case of the old Ollerton pit site, an "energy village" of housing, offices and light industry all built along environmentally conscious lines. Renamed: Appin West and amalgamated with Appin Colliery. of Mines (DoM records). The VRM was persevered with until at 478 metres depth it was withdrawn due to ongoing difficulties and the remaining 37 metres (to seam) completed by shotfiring, the final shots were fired on 13th May 1997. 2002 – 31st December, Tower Colliery closes being integrated into the Appin Colliery mine workings and being known as the Douglas District. Tower Colliery is located near the village of Hirwaun, in Glamorgan, South Wales. Having mined out the northern coal extracts, the colliery was last worked on 18 January 2008 and the official closure of the colliery occurred on 25 January, 2008. After the strike, in 1986 Tower received investment of £5 million in new double telescopic power roof supports in the V29 coal face in the Five/Seven Feet seam, where anthracite was up to 10ft thick. From the Inspector of Mines list of 1896, Tower Graig Colliery was discontinued. Wales has also had a significant history of mining for slate, gold and various metal ores. 1974 – 17th Oct, Notice of Commencement received by the Dept. 1864 The first drift, named Tower, was started on Hirwaun common March 1984 Thousands of miners went on strike after it was announced … I was even more delighted to learn that they believed their case so strongly that they were prepared to take the pit over and mine it themselves, if the Coal Board would give them the chance. This profile was written towards the beginning of our project, further material about Prince of Wales colliery is available at our exhibtion website. Winder drive. Up to 14 coal seams had been worked at Tower Colliery during its history, and the neighbouring mines within the lease area of Tower, which was 14.8km in circumference to create an area of 221.3 hectares. By the late 1970s, mining operations at Tower encompassed an area of around four square miles and took coal from the Five Feet and Nine Feet seams at a maximum subterranean depth of 457 metres. Zip World is set to open its first adventure park in south Wales, with the former Tower Colliery forming part of the site. Zip World Tower. Air reservoir. In 1935, it came under the ownership of the Powell Duffryn Group, the largest coal company in both south Wales and the UK. In 1995 miners famously bought the Tower Colliery in the Cynon Valley, which opened in 1805, to keep it as a going concern. Methane power plant. Also from the same list, Tower Colliery, owned by the Marquess of Bute, was producing steam coal with a workforce of 420 men. Taken at Tower a few months before closure. William Williams began producing housecoal, manufacturing coal and fireclay from a drift mine named Tower Graig in 1864. Nevertheless, Tower Colliery was also the last mine in south Wales to use pit ponies, a practice which seems to have been phased out by the mid-1980s. Home to Phoenix and the Tower Coaster, Zip World Tower is the 4th Zip World site to open, and is the 1st to be situated in south Wales. This motion has been signed by 6 Members. Please sign up to contribute and/or support the ongoing development of this community site. Led by local NUM Branch Secretary Tyrone O'Sullivan, 239 miners joined TEBO (Tower Employees Buy-Out), with each pledging £8,000 from their redundancy payouts to buy back Tower. 1996 – Tower #3 Ventilation Shaft utilising the raise-boring technique is in progress. Owner: BHP. Old fan chimney. Jeff Morgan 05 / Alamy Stock Photo. The pit has two vertical shafts of 900 and 1000m, which were originally sunk in the 1920’s. A very large number of mines, drifts and shafts have been worked on the northern flank of the Rhigos Mountain, in northern Glamorgan, over a period of over two hundred years. Machinery from Tower has been used to boost production at the nearby Aberpergwm Colliery, a smaller mine closed by the National Coal Board in 1985 but reopened by a private concern in the mid 1990s. 1974 – 17 th Oct, Notice of Commencement received by the Dept. In 1945 there were 1,045 men working at Tower. Road to drift entrance. But the workers’ buyout led to the mine re … of Mines (DoM records). A few more years … In 1994, British Coal closed the colliery because it thought it would be uneconomical to keep it working. Tower-Fernhill comprised a single unit employing 860 men and producing around 250,000 tons of semi-anthracite per year. It is an amendment to an existing motion. It was used solely for conveying coal and materials. The adventure business from North Wales is hoping to bring its unique brand of extraordinary experiences to South Wales and will be consulting on a draft planning application for a zip wire development at Rhigos Mountain and Tower Colliery, Rhigos Road, Rhigos. In 1995, they produced 450,000 tonnes of high-grade anthracite, making over £4 million in pre-tax profit. Pit cats, 2 of 20, place was over run with rats as the cats were overfed by the miners! Launching on Friday 15th February, the consultation will run until 17th March. The original attraction, known as Zip World Velocity, opened at Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda, in 2013. In 1964 Tower was linked underground with Fernhill Colliery, located in the upper Rhondda Fawr valley the other side of the Rhigos. Tower was the last deep mine in South Wales (there were 170 deep - shaft - mines throughout the UK in 1984, on the eve of the miners' strike but only eight major ones left by the end of March 2005).