Rhondda Heritage Park facts for kids
The Rhondda Heritage Park is a cool place to visit in Trehafod, Rhondda, South Wales. It's like a time machine that takes you back to see what life was like for people who worked in coal mines until the 1980s.
You can go on a special tour deep inside one of the old mine shafts at the Lewis Merthyr colliery. The best part? Your guides are real former coal miners! They share amazing stories about their lives underground. Rhondda Heritage Park is also a special spot on the European Route of Industrial Heritage, which connects important industrial sites across Europe.
This park is built on the land of the old Lewis Merthyr Colliery. It helps us remember the huge role coal mining played in the Rhondda Valleys. For a long time, this area was one of the most important coal mining regions in the world. Imagine, in a valley only about 16 miles (26 km) long, there were once over 53 working coal mines!
Discovering Coal Mining History
Even though people dug for coal in Rhondda as early as the 1600s for their homes, the first official coal mine opened in 1790. A man named Dr. Richard Griffiths started it. He also brought the first special road for coal carts into the Rhondda. Later, Walter Coffin opened more pits. This led to the discovery of rich coal seams, which are layers of coal underground. Many more mining lines followed after that.
In the 1850s, two pits were opened on the land that became the Lewis Merthyr site:
- Hafod was started by two brothers, David and John Thomas.
- Coed Cae was opened by Edward Mills.
Both of these early pits had to close because the working conditions were too difficult.
In the mid-1870s, William Thomas Lewis (who later became Lord Merthyr) bought and reopened these two pits. They mined the upper layers of coal, which were used for homes. Hafod closed around 1893, and Coed Cae stopped in the 1930s.
By 1880, WT Lewis had dug the Bertie shaft. In 1890, he dug the Trefor shaft. Both were named after his sons. By this time, his company was called Lewis Merthyr Consolidated Collieries Ltd. It was a huge operation, employing about 5,000 men and digging out almost a million tons of coal every year! The two tall structures over the mine shafts, called headframes, and the other old mining buildings are now protected as important historical sites.
In 1904, the company opened another mine called Lady Lewis Colliery, about 1 mile (1.6 km) away. In 1905, they bought Universal Colliery at Senghenydd. Sadly, this mine later had the worst mining accident in British history. In 1929, the Lewis Merthyr mine became part of a bigger company called the Powell Dyffryn Group. In the same year, Coed Cae stopped bringing coal to the surface. Hafod No 2 followed, and Hafod No 1 closed in 1933. The mine became owned by the government in 1947.
In 1958, Lewis Merthyr Colliery joined with the nearby Ty Mawr Colliery. After this, no more coal was brought up at Lewis Merthyr. Coal continued to come up through Ty Mawr, and Lewis Merthyr was only used for miners and supplies. By 1969, the mine was known as the Ty Mawr/Lewis Merthyr Colliery. Miners worked many different coal layers at Lewis Merthyr. They used a special method called longwall mining. Most of the coal was dug out with air-powered tools and loaded onto conveyor belts by hand.
Until the 1950s, coal mining stayed strong in Wales. But after that, fewer and fewer miners were needed. Many mines closed even though there was still coal underground. This happened because oil and coal from other countries became cheaper. The coal industry in South Wales saw a huge decline. At Lewis Merthyr, coal production stopped on March 14, 1983. Mining continued in one last coal seam until July, when all coal digging ended forever at Ty Mawr/Lewis Merthyr.
By 1990, there were no working coal mines left in the Rhondda. But thanks to places like the Rhondda Heritage Park, the history of coal mining at the Lewis Merthyr Colliery is saved for everyone to learn from.
Miner's Lamp Memorial
In May 2000, a large memorial shaped like a miner's lamp was put up at the entrance of Rhondda Heritage Park. It stands 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. A plaque on the memorial explains why it's there. It honors all the miners who lost their lives or suffered because of accidents, disasters, or diseases like Coalworker's pneumoconiosis (black lung disease) from working in the South Wales coalfield. A famous actor from Rhondda, Glyn Houston, helped unveil the memorial.
The Lewis Merthyr Band
The Lewis-Merthyr Band is still playing music today! It started way back in 1855 or even earlier. The band has won many awards and continues to perform across Wales and beyond. People believe the Lewis-Merthyr Band is the oldest music group in Rhondda that is still active.
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