Base of Chimney at Cwm Pit

Cadw's description

Location

In forestry on the W side of the Taf valley reached by a track some 1km NW from the Gethin Forest picnic site.

History

Chimney base of colliery chimney of the Cwm Pit colliery, a complex now overgrown in woodland but still with surviving massive stone revetment walls to stream and arched entries into the levels. Cwm Pit was sunk between 1820 and 1840, the boom years of the deep pits in the area such as Collier's Row, Glyndyrys and Rhyd-y-car. The chimney stands on a rise to the S of the main remains. Old photographs show a very tall square stack standing S of a 3-storey engine house on the revetment wall, a hipped building SW of the chimney and various buildings to W.

Exterior

Chimney base built of exceptionally large rock-faced stone squared blocks rising to heavy similar raised band and then stepped back in three steps of similar blocks to site of demolished shaft. Each side has a large arched stoking hole, three lined with yellow brick but perhaps originally all of masonry as one survives with cut stone voussoirs and no yellow brick.

Reason for designation

Included as a particularly massively built chimney base, an historically important feature of this earlier C19 pit.