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Mining was a dangerous and dirty job, if the mines never killed
anyone, people died later from eating the dust. People needed money,
they need jobs, if there was nothing else around what were you
suppose to do?.
The old Welsh method of working coal was by pillar and stall, known
in the 17th century as post and stall. Stalls or working places
included the width of the roadway and a coalface on one or both
sides of the roadway.
Stone above the roadway was removed and packed in the sides for
extra headroom and support but in the stalls only the coal was
removed. Here the original method was for the miner to remove a
wedge of coal from the bottom of the seam, to a depth of three to
four feet along the length of his stall - possibly up to 12 metres.
The introduction of coal cutting machinery during the second half of
the 19th century led to the widespread use of the longwall system
where faces 200 metres, or more, were cut and often serviced by
roadways on either side
In 1855 the output of the South Wales Coalfield had been
approximately 8.5 million tons, but by 1913 it had reached its peak
of approximately 57 million tons, or a fifth of the entire output of
the United Kingdom.
Fortunes were made by the few, but for most of the mining families
life was very hard, with housing being often primitive and in short
supply. Families were usually large and lodgers were common.
Aberfan Coal Mines
Slag Heap Shale
Cracks Land Slide
Farm Cottage
Pantglas School
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