Location:

Ferndale, Rhondda Fach Valley

Sunk:

1859

Closed:

1960

Ferndale No.1 Pit was sunk in 1859 and after a cautious start just 11,138 tons of coal were produced before two explosions ripped through the mine. On 8 November 1867 a naked flame from the miner's lamp ignited the accumulation of gas causing a deadly blast. Rescue work was extremely difficult and most victims were so badly burned identification was almost impossible. The colliery suffered another explosion just 17 months later when 53 men and boys were killed by an explosion.

From employing 4,115 men in 1935 and producing 1,000,000 tons of coal Powell Duffryn closed most of the Ferndale pits in the late 1930s and the remaining pits were closed in 1959 and 1960.

On 13 February 1908 a fatal accident occurred at No.5 pit Ferndale Colliery killing ex Private Thomas Chester, who 29 years earlier had been present, and was one of the defenders, during the attack on Rorke's Drift by thousands of Zulu warriors in the Anglo Zulu war.