Cof Cymru: National Historic Assets of Wales · Wales
Cefn Coed Colliery Pump House
Crynant, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
The record
- Designation
- Listed building, Grade II
- Broad class
- Industrial
- Date of designation
- 4 February 1991
- Locality
- Crynant
- Town
- Neath
- Community
- Crynant
- Unitary authority
- Neath Port Talbot
- Country
- Wales
- Coordinates
- 51.71509, -3.75948
- Cadw reference
- 11862
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 5 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Cornubia : Devonia, Somersetus, Dorcestria, Wiltonia, Glocestria ..." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
Cadw's description
Location
Located at the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum in the Dulais Valley, on the A4109 two miles north of Aberdulais. The pump house is immediately adjacent to the boilerhouse at the centre of the Museum site.
History
Cefn Coed Colliery was sunk in 1926-7 at that time being the deepest anthracite mine in the world with two shafts over 732m deep. The colliery began production of high-quality anthracite in 1930, employed over 900 men in 1945 and closed in 1968. The site remained in use in association with the Blaenant Drift Mine in the valley floor to the south, which was driven in the 1960s and closed in 1990. The Cefn Coed Colliery Museum was established in 1978 and has within its area at the side of the site several important monuments, including the colliery’s original steam boilerhouse, chimney, compressor house, electrical generating house, two headframes and the winding house of No 2 shaft with the original steam winding engines. The pump house contained steam-operated pumps to supply water to the boilers.
Exterior
Single-storey building, sunk into the ground, gabled at front and back and with five metal-framed windows down its S side. The gable ends each have double doors and a circular opening in the gable itself. Constructed of brick with concrete lintels, as in other of the original colliery buildings on the site, and an asbestos roof.
Interior
Two small steam-driven pumps made by Weir survive inside the building. These were installed in c.1930, but are said to have been re-used from a First World War battleship. The E end of the building is used as a store.
Reason for designation
Listed for group value with this exceptionally complete colliery complex.
Nearby in the register
- Cefn Coed Colliery chimney and boiler house flueIndustrialunder 1 mi
- Cefn Coed Colliery BoilerhouseIndustrialunder 1 mi
- Cefn Coed Colliery, No. 2 Shaft HeadframeIndustrialunder 1 mi
- Cefn Coed Colliery, No. 1 Shaft HeadframeIndustrialunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.