Ferndale Colliery

Ferndale No.1, depicted in 1867.

David Davies sunk the Ferndale No.1 in 1857. This was the first colliery in the Rhondda Fach opened to work Steam coal. On Friday 8th of November 1867 the whole district of Ferndale was shaken by two consecutive explosions. The manager had just entered the mine, and in the ensuing rescue attempt, his was one of the first bodies to be discovered. The rescuers were hampered by roof falls and the air was so foul that on times it extinguished the flames in their safety lamps. Eventually, with some trepidation, the furnace which powered the ventilation was relit and with the improved ventilation the rescuers could venture further into the mines workings. Most of the bodies brought to the surface showed signs of severe burning and many were so badly disfigured it made identification impossible.
A month had nearly past before all the remains of the 178 men and boys who perished had been recovered. At the enquiry the lamp keeper stated that during the period prior to the explosion lamps returned to him often showed signs of being tampered with. He added that he had reported these incidents that breached the company's rules to the manager. The jury concluded that one or more of the colliers had removed the tops off their lamps and worked with naked lights which had ignited an accumulation of gas.

Just seventeen months later on the 10th of June 1869 another explosion occurred at this fated colliery this time killing 53 men and boys. No.3 was sunk in 1864 in the Rhondda Fawr and was known as the Bodringallt pit and was purchased by David Davies in 1890. No.5 was sunk in 1889 by David Davies & Sons and was situated 40 yards from No.1 at Ferndale, both 400 yards deep. They closed in 1959. No.2 and No.4 were sunk in 1870 and 1876, about 1500 yards further to the north. They closed before the outbreak of W.W.2.

In 1908 the employment numbers in the Ferndale pits were No.1 = 999, No.2 = 112, No.3 = 653, No.4 = 632, No.5 =1,096. By 1945 the Ferndale pits Nos. 1 & 5 employed a total of 768 men.

Ferndale No.2 & No.4, depicted in 1911.

Information on individual collieries kindly supplied by www.welshcoalmines.co.uk