Torfaen Iron Mines

Introduction
A few miles from Pontypool lies Blaenavon. Blaenavon is a World Heritage Site, which gives it a the same status as the Great Pyramids in Egypt. The reason Blaenavon is a World Heritage Site is that it can be thought of as the birth place of the Industrial Revolution. Although Blaenavon is the home of an early iron foundry and Big Pit coal and iron mine, it could equally be argued that Pontypool is the true birth place of the Industrial Revolution despite the fact that few signs of its importance remain.

The Hanbury family were the most influential iron masters in the area. They not only owned and ran many forges in the area, but they developed and improved the process of manufacturing iron from the seventeenth century until the latter part of the nineteenth century when the iron mining industry in this country collapsed in a manner very similar to the collapse of the coal industry almost exactly one hundred years later.

Geology
The area around Pontypool has a foundation of limestone. On top of the limestone are alternating layers of coal, iron stone, clay and shale.

In some places iron stone outcrops, in others coal outcrops. The area near Aberdare No.1 level is known as the Scourings, since iron stone outcroped here and in the past people would wash away the topsoil with water in order to expose and collect the iron stone. Although there were a few coal mines and at least one clay mine in the immediate vicinity there is no sign of coal being present in Aberdare No. 1. In contrast, near the entrance of the Wainfelin / Tranch iron mine there is a place where the roof has partly collapsed revealing a chamber where coal is visible. Also, further into the Wainfelin / Tranch mine a small seam of coal is visible.

Access
The Wainfelin / Tranch Iron Mine is gated.

The Aberdare No.1 Level is not gated at this time, but it should be. For that reason, it should be treated it as if it were with access as below:

There are two cavers who are key holders, Chris Gibbs and Mr. Owen Clarke. Owen will be happy to lend out the key but will probably not join the trip. Chris Gibbs loves these mines; any excuse to visit is a good one, also, he claims to know them a bit better! He'll arange to meet visitors and perhaps even go to places he's never been before!

Mr Owen Clarke 11 Pentwyn Heights Pentwyn Abersychan Tel: 01495 773175

Chris Gibbs 15 Elmhurst Close Trevethin Pontypool

[mailto:aku.sucks@googlemail.com Chris Gibbs]

Aberdare No.1 Level
The mine was opened c. 1797. Very little else is known for certain.

One thing that makes the mine interesting is the fact that it runs under the Penyrheol Reservoir. Opened in 1914, the reservoir is now derelict. There is what looks like a large chimney coming up from one of the deepest parts of the reservoir. This turns out to be an air shaft and it is possible to sit at the bottom of it inside the iron mine.

On entering the mine the first thing one notices is that the tram rails are still present, and run through most of the main passage. Also, one notices that reinforced concrete has been used to line the walls, and in some places the roof, of the main passage. This concrete seems to be of poor quality and quite thinly applied. It seems from graffiti in the concrete that the concrete was applied in 1909 (reinforced concrete had only recently been invented at this time), presumably in an attempt to seal the mine from the reservoir above. It would seem this measure was unsuccessful, since local wisdom has it that the reason the reservoir was closed is that water was seeping into the iron mine.

The presence of concrete gives the main passage the 'feel' of a world war 1 trench system. Quite probably the people responsible for it went on to construct underground bunkers and trench systems in WW1.

Near the entrance is a short passage on the right that does not seem to go anywhere.

Further on is another right hand passage. This passage has an active stream that issues from under the main passage. There is pipework here of unknown purpose which is in suprisingly good condition. The passage descends at about 10 - 15 degrees and has many twists and turns. There are several metal roof supports in reasonable condition. This passage has been followed for maybe 100 - 150 metres where the water becomes deeper, indeed it could well sump here. It could well go further.

Continuing along the main passage one comes across a tram trolley! A little further and the passage forks. The left hand passage (reinforced concrete lining walls and roof throughout) slopes gently upwards and ends with a climb up into the bottom of the aforementioned air shaft. The tram rails continue for a short distance along the righthand passage. One soon comes to an arch where there is some graffiti.

A little further on one notices an oval metal lined hole in the lefthand wall. One can crawl through for about 4 metres where the metal lining ends and one can climb up into a rough passage. This passage uses iron arches to support the roof, with tramrails and whatever else came to hand supporting the roof between the arches. Eventually the roof supports end. The passage twists and turns and further on widens with maybe three short side passages. All ways on end within about 200 metres of the metal lined entrance.

Continuing along the main passage from the oval side passage, one eventually comes to a place where the reinforced concrete ends and a rough four or five course brick wall attempts to block the passage, above the brick is shale. However, it is possible to squeeze through the blockage and enter a 'main chamber'. To the right one can hear running water, it sounds like a lot of running water. In one place one can see a passage continuing on but it is impossible to enter this passage.

The Wainfelin / Tranch Iron Mine
There is very little that can be said with any certainty about the history of this mine. Even the original entrance has now been lost. What we see as the entrance opposite the Texaco Petrol Station in Pontnewynydd is really the very far end of the mine, which was probably an extension made after the mine ceased production. The original entrance would have been somewhere on the Crumlin Road near Old Furnace. Old Furnace is so called because it is the site of one of the oldest known iron furnaces in Pontypool, the Trosnant Furnace. The Trosnant Furnace was opened in 1576 and worked until 1830.

A map from 1811, drawn by a Mr. Watkin George, shows a disused iron mine entrance called the Troideg Level in the exact position where we would expect the Wainfelin / Tranch iron mine to surface at its, now, far end. There is no indication on this map of a mine entrance in Pontnewynydd as we see it now. The Troideg Level is known to have had 1410 sleepers inside. Sleepers would be laid about one yard apart and give a good indication of the length of a mine. The explored length of the Wainfelin / Tranch iron mine is 1320 yards, just 90 yards short of the expected distance.

We might therefore expect this mine to have opened as early as 1600. Originally iron stone would have been collected from the surface to feed the Trosnant Furnace, but this would soon have run out necessitating the opening of a mine. As we know from the 1811 map, the mine had ceased production by 1811. Chalked on a wall near the Pontnewynydd entrance is the date 1765. Since this was the point furthest from the original entrance, it is reasonable to suppose this date marks the closing of the mine.

The entrance in Pontnewynydd was 'rediscovered' in 1993, when the Pontypool bypass was built. At this time there was a stone above the entrance with the engraving "CHL 1831". CHL refers to Capel Hanbury Leigh, a local land owning family that had large interests in the local iron industry. Unfortunately this stone has now gone missing. Why was the mine opened at Pontnewynydd? The mine had long fallen into disuse. It is improbable that the intention was to provide a means of transporting pigs of iron from Old Furnace to the Osbourne Forge, since Old Furnace had ceased production before the new entrance was opened. One theory is that the new entrance caused the flow of water in the mine to reverse, this would mean that the Osbourne Forge would have an additional water supply to the Afon Lwyd. This idea is also questionable for reasons given below. Work on the bypass had to be suspended for several days and the road closed because by reopening the mine water came flooding out. In the iron mine one can clearly see the old water level, since over time water stained the walls brown.

In some places the walls and roof of the mine are natural, whilst in other, less stable areas, 'brick' tunnels have been built. Much of the mine water is now waist deep, though can be quite shallow in some places. However where the water is anything more than knee deep about half the depth is made up of a kind of suspended mud. Within the 'suspended mud' there are interesting reddish or orange jelly like formations, some of which are quite large and float on a bed of suspended sediment.

Most of the formations within the mine are of a more 'normal' stalactite nature. Although a great many are white jelly like formations with strange organic shapes.

The mine was not always flooded. During the Second World War the mine was used by some people as an air raid shelter. Local people remember a trestle table not far from the entrance where cups of tea would be brewed up. There was a gentleman who remembers that as a boy in the 1950s he would be dared to go as far into the mine as he could, he does not remember the mine being flooded. It seems sometime after the Second World War a local colliery decided it might be a good idea to use this mine as a way of draining water. Evidence that the mine was once dry comes in the form of a stalagmite about 700 metres into the mine, that is about one metre high.

Some side passages also have interesting formations.

The tunnel ends after some 960 metres where the sediment/mud reaches the roof preventing further progress. It seems impossible to reach even that point, since where the sediment becomes thigh deep, it is too difficult to put one foot in front of the other, it can take one minute to take one step! There are about fourteen side passages.