Big Pit
Encyclopedia
Big Pit: National Coal Museum is a museum
in Blaenavon
, Torfaen
, South Wales
. A working coal mine from 1860 to 1980, it was opened to visitors from 1980 under the auspices of the National Museum Wales
. The site is dedicated to operational preservation of the Welsh heritage of coal mining
, which took place during the Industrial revolution
.
Located adjacent to the preserved Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
, Big Pit is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage
, and located close to the World Heritage Site
in Blaenavon.
, with workings dating back to 1810 on the Coity Mountain
.
The nearby Coity pit had been driven in 1840, but was a then traditional circular single tramway 12 feet (3.7 m) in dimension. The new main shaft was sunk in 1860, named "Big Pit" due to its elliptical shape with dimensions of 18 feet (5.5 m) by 13 feet (4 m), the first shaft in Wales large enough to allow two tramways. On completion it became the coal-winding shaft, while the older Coity shaft was used for upcast air ventilation.
In 1878, the main shaft was deepened to reach the Old Coal seam at 293 feet (89.3 m). By 1908, Big Pit provided employment for 1,122 people, and by 1923 at peak, there were 1,399 men employed, producing: House Coal, Steam Coal, Ironstone and Fireclay; from the Horn, No. 2 Yard, Old Coal and Elled seams. On nationalisation in 1947, the National Coal Board
took over the mine from the Blaenavon Co. Ltd, which employed 789 men.
By 1970 the workforce only numbered 494, as operations had focused solely on the Garw seam, with a maximum thickness of only 30 inch. The NCB agreed the development of a drift mine, which by 1973 meant that windings at Big Pit had ceased, with coal extracted close to the refurbished Black Lion coal washery. The Coity shaft was abandoned, with the Big Pit shaft used for upcast air ventilation and emergency extraction.
The pit finally closed on 2 February 1980.
, allowing coal to be directly transported to the Midlands via the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
. By 1880, the line had extended south to meet the Great Western Railway
at Abersychan & Talywain
. Here the line carried on down the valley through Pontypool Crane Street Station to the coast at Newport
, and hence to overseas markets via Newport Docks
. In 1922 the LNWR was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
. From World War II
onwards, the line saw a variety of GWR locomotives operating from pit to port, with the line losing its passenger operations from 1941. After other pits in the area had closed, the line connection north was closed as a result of the Beeching cuts
from 1964 onwards. The NCB paid for the line to be re-extended to Waunavon
in the early 1970s, where the drift mine developments accessed the refurbished former Black Lion coal washery.
The mine reopened for visitors in 1983. On 1 February 2001 it became incorporated into the National Museum Wales
, and was initially known as the National Mining Museum of Wales, it has since been renamed to become Big Pit: National Coal Museum.
.
, which in case of emergency will filter foul air for approximately one hour, giving a chance for survival and escape.
Before taking the 50 minute underground tour 90 metres (295.3 ft) below ground, contraband
must be surrendered, such as anything containing a dry cell battery from watches to mobile phones. The dangers of the mine are real, the safety posters on the stages of Carbon Monoxide
poisoning serve as museum pieces and as real reminders of the dangers underground. Automatic gas monitoring systems are discreetly positioned around the tunnels, as are emergency telephone systems.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Blaenavon
Blaenavon
Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...
, Torfaen
Torfaen
Torfaen is a county borough in Wales within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It was originally formed in 1974 as a district of the county of Gwent and in 1996 it was reconstituted as a unitary authority.-Education:...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. A working coal mine from 1860 to 1980, it was opened to visitors from 1980 under the auspices of the National Museum Wales
National Museum Wales
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, comprises eight museums in Wales:* National Museum Cardiff* St Fagans: National History Museum, Cardiff* Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon...
. The site is dedicated to operational preservation of the Welsh heritage of coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, which took place during the Industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
Located adjacent to the preserved Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in South Wales, running trains between a halt platform opposite the Whistle Stop public house southwards to the town of Blaenavon via a two-platform station at the site of former colliery furnace.The line is the highest...
, Big Pit is an Anchor Point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
, and located close to the World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in Blaenavon.
History of the working pit
The site has some of the oldest large scale industrial coal mining developments in the South Wales CoalfieldSouth Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
, with workings dating back to 1810 on the Coity Mountain
Coity Mountain
Coity Mountain is a flat-topped mountain in the South Wales Valleys, between Blaenavon and Abertillery. The highest points of both Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent unitary authorities are at the summit of Coity Mountain. The summit is also known as Twyn Ffynhonnau Goerion...
.
The nearby Coity pit had been driven in 1840, but was a then traditional circular single tramway 12 feet (3.7 m) in dimension. The new main shaft was sunk in 1860, named "Big Pit" due to its elliptical shape with dimensions of 18 feet (5.5 m) by 13 feet (4 m), the first shaft in Wales large enough to allow two tramways. On completion it became the coal-winding shaft, while the older Coity shaft was used for upcast air ventilation.
In 1878, the main shaft was deepened to reach the Old Coal seam at 293 feet (89.3 m). By 1908, Big Pit provided employment for 1,122 people, and by 1923 at peak, there were 1,399 men employed, producing: House Coal, Steam Coal, Ironstone and Fireclay; from the Horn, No. 2 Yard, Old Coal and Elled seams. On nationalisation in 1947, the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
took over the mine from the Blaenavon Co. Ltd, which employed 789 men.
By 1970 the workforce only numbered 494, as operations had focused solely on the Garw seam, with a maximum thickness of only 30 inch. The NCB agreed the development of a drift mine, which by 1973 meant that windings at Big Pit had ceased, with coal extracted close to the refurbished Black Lion coal washery. The Coity shaft was abandoned, with the Big Pit shaft used for upcast air ventilation and emergency extraction.
The pit finally closed on 2 February 1980.
Transport
In 1866, the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway opened, with access sidings to the mine workings. The line was immediately leased to the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
, allowing coal to be directly transported to the Midlands via the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway
The Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway was a railway company operating between 1860 and 1958 between the towns of Merthyr Tydfil, Tredegar and Abergavenny through the counties of Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire in south east Wales....
. By 1880, the line had extended south to meet the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
at Abersychan & Talywain
Abersychan and Talywain railway station
Abersychan and Talywain railway station served the west of Abersychan village in the Welsh county of Monmouthshire. The station was the meeting point for two major pre-grouping railways as they competed for the South Wales coal traffic.-History:...
. Here the line carried on down the valley through Pontypool Crane Street Station to the coast at Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, and hence to overseas markets via Newport Docks
Newport Docks
Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales.-Background:Newport was a small fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century...
. In 1922 the LNWR was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
. From World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
onwards, the line saw a variety of GWR locomotives operating from pit to port, with the line losing its passenger operations from 1941. After other pits in the area had closed, the line connection north was closed as a result of the Beeching cuts
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
from 1964 onwards. The NCB paid for the line to be re-extended to Waunavon
Waunavon railway station
Waunavon railway station, also known as "Waunafon", was a station that served as a junction for Milfraen Pit colliery, south east Wales. Build by the London and North Western Railway as an expansion for the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway to meet Blaenavon.At an altitude of 1401ft above sea level,...
in the early 1970s, where the drift mine developments accessed the refurbished former Black Lion coal washery.
Disasters
On 11 December 1908, three men were killed here in a localised explosion. On 7 April 1913, another three men lost their lives in a localised fire, that included: a fireman; the face manager; and the under manager.History of the National Coal Museum
National Museum Wales
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, comprises eight museums in Wales:* National Museum Cardiff* St Fagans: National History Museum, Cardiff* Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon...
, and was initially known as the National Mining Museum of Wales, it has since been renamed to become Big Pit: National Coal Museum.
Big Pit as a tourist attraction
Purposefully preserved as an operational attraction, the site was redeveloped in 2003, with design work from TACP/Brooke Millar Partnership. Hence, Big Pit is not a sanitised Disney-style "theme park." The pit props and steel bands are not for show, but to hold up the mine roof. The water flowing down the tunnel towards the cages is real, apart from the fact it now flows down a channel rather than over the miners feet. As a result, in 2005 it won the prestigious Gulbenkian PrizeGulbenkian Prize
The Art Fund Prize, formerly known as the Gulbenkian Prize, is an annual prize awarded to a museum or gallery in the United Kingdom for a "track record of imagination, innovation and excellence"...
.
Safety
The pit is covered by HM Inspectorate of Mines regulations, similar to that of a working pit. Visitors wear a plastic hard hat, safety lamp, and a battery on a waist belt which weighs 5 kilograms (11 lb). Visitors must also carry on their belt a rebreatherRebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
, which in case of emergency will filter foul air for approximately one hour, giving a chance for survival and escape.
Before taking the 50 minute underground tour 90 metres (295.3 ft) below ground, contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
must be surrendered, such as anything containing a dry cell battery from watches to mobile phones. The dangers of the mine are real, the safety posters on the stages of Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
poisoning serve as museum pieces and as real reminders of the dangers underground. Automatic gas monitoring systems are discreetly positioned around the tunnels, as are emergency telephone systems.
See also
- Mining in WalesMining in WalesMining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century....
- Mining accidentMining accidentA mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
- South Wales coalfieldSouth Wales CoalfieldThe South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
- South Wales Coalfield CollectionSouth Wales Coalfield CollectionThe South Wales Coalfield Collection , established in 1969 was an attempt to preserve the documentary records of the mining community in South Wales at that time when over one hundred coal mines had been closed since nationalisation and such records were in danger of being destroyed.By 1971 the...
- 1926 United Kingdom general strike1926 United Kingdom general strikeThe 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
- UK miners' strike (1984-1985)
- Rhondda Heritage ParkRhondda Heritage ParkRhondda Heritage Park, Trehafod, Rhondda, South Wales is a tourist attraction which offers an insight into the life of the coal mining community that existed in the area until the 1980s....
- National Coal Mining Museum for EnglandNational Coal Mining Museum for EnglandThe National Coal Mining Museum for England is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1988 as the Yorkshire Mining Museum and was granted national status in 1995.-History:...
- RhymneyRhymneyRhymney is a town and a community located in the county borough of Caerphilly in south-east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Along with the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is designated as the 'Upper Rhymney Valley' by the local...
- BlaenavonBlaenavonBlaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...