Berw Colliery

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

Berw colliery was sunk in the early nineteenth century and is the best preserved of a number that once formed the Anglesey coalfield. The Berw colliery had a relatively short working life. Without the change and development seen at many other collieries, Berw illustrates many of the typical features of a small early nineteenth century Welsh coal mine. It was established following the drainage of the Malltraeth Marsh (which began in the 1780s) and is known to have been extensively capitalised in the late 1840s, operating until it was flooded in the late 1860s.

The monument comprises the remains of several buildings and structures, including the engine house, a possible boiler house and a fine chimney stack. The site of the shaft itself lies close to these structural remains. The ruinous domestic and working ranges of a small farmstead are situated immediately adjacent to the colliery.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the early nineteenth century coal mining industry. The site is a well-preserved and rare example of a small early Victorian colliery. It is the only colliery site of the Anglesey coalfield at which significant built structures are preserved. The close association of the mining remains with those of a small farmstead also illustrate the important links between agriculture and industry which characterised the early phases of industrialisation. The structures may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is irregular and measures up to 58m from ESE to WNW by up to 56m transversely.