Six Bells Colliery

Six Bells Colliery was a coal mine located in near Aberbeeg, Monmouthshire, South Wales.

Sinking

Opened as Arael Griffin on the site of an earlier balance shaft that was sunk in 1863 by Thomas Phillips Price at Hafod Van, in 1892 John Lancaster & Co. began sinking two 352 yards (322 m) shafts on the opposite side of the Ebbw Fach river. Four men lost their lives during the shaft sinking on February 9th, 1895, when the bowk in which they were riding capsized, and they fell to shaft bottom.

Private operation: 1896-1947

By 1896 it was owned by Partridge Jones and Co., when there were 173 men employed in the sinking, including 101 on the surface. Coal winding began at Six Bells in 1898.

Hafod Van slope was opened in 1909, and employed 122 men by 1910. It closed in 1914 due to a lack of man power, when the colliery employed 2,800 men. A New Hafod Van slope was opened in 1922, and was worked until 1928. By 1923, there were 859 men employed at No.4 pit, working the Big Vein and Three Quarter seams. At No.5 there were 1,529 men employed, working the Black and Meadow Vein seams.

Due to the economic downturn, Six Bells was mothballed in 1930 for several years because of lack of trade. John Paton took over the mine in 1936 until Nationalisation in 1947, when there were 1,534 men employed.

Nationalisation

The neighbouring Vivian Colliery closed in 1958 and for some years the Vivian's shaft was used as a downcast for Six Bells.

Six Bells Colliery Disaster

On June 28, 1960, at approximately 10.45, an explosion took place in the West District of the Old Coal Seam, caused by an ignition of firedamp. Coal-dust in the air ignited and the explosion spread almost throughout the district. Killing 45 out of the 48 men who work in that district of the mine, the tragedy would have been even worse if it wasn't for the fact that maintenance work was being carried out on the O.10 face where normally 125 men would have been employed.

Lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide gas were found to be present. This suggested that the men lost consciousness rapidly and that death occurred within minutes. A public enquiry into the disaster took place, at No 2 Court of Newport Civic Centre, between 19 and 28 September 1960. The Inspector of Mines reported that the probable cause of the explosion was firedamp ignited by a spark from a stone falling onto a steel girder.

Merger with Marine Colliery, closure

As part of the National Coal Boards strategic move to super-pits, in the 1970's Six Bells was integrated with Marine Colliery in Cwm. All coal after that point was raised through Marine. The whole complex closed in 1988.

Memorial

In 2010, a 20 metres (66 ft) high statue was erected near the site of the old colliery to commemorate the disaster. Designed by Sebastian Boyesen, it is fabricated with thousands of steel ribbons. Unveiled by The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams on June 28, 2010, although the statue was incomplete - the arms had not been attached - and was expected to be completed within two weeks. Known as "The Guardian", the statue has been described as "a Welsh answer to Antony Gormley's Angel of the North".

External links

• Six Bells at welshcoalmines.co.uk
• Coal House at bbc.co.uk
• On This Day at bbc.co.uk