Crimea Colliery & Canal Quay

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a very short lived colliery sunk in 1854 and closed in 1862. There are substantial remains of several finely built structures of dressed sandstone: a beam pumping engine house, a winding engine house, a chimney, and other walls and minor features. The beam engine house is almost complete to gable height, but lintels have begun to fail on one side. There is a small amount of coal spoil on the site, and at the bottom of the slope is a stone built tipping stage adjoining the route of the Swansea Canal.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the early nineteenth century coal mining industry. In particular, the site is significant because it shows the complete surface layout of a colliery of the mid 19th century, undisturbed by subsequent alterations or redevelopment. The structures may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, building techniques and functional detail. A colliery may be part of a larger cluster of industrial monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.