Enjoy industrial heritage

While Big Pit may get all the attention, anyone interested in the industrial legacy that made Wales one of the biggest coal producers in the world would do well to check out Elliot Colliery Winding House in New Tredegar. The winding house and the Victorian steam winding engine still intact and on display, once lay at the heart of a thriving colliery.

Today it stands alone and is one of the last reminders of the coal industry that brought thousands of people to the valleys in search of employment. It all began in the mid-nineteenth century when the coal industry changed the face of the Rhymney Valley. In the space of a couple of years, its impact transformed the rural settlement of White Rose into the bustling mining town of New Tredegar.

The premier pit to open in New Tredegar was Elliot Colliery. The west shaft was sunk in 1883 and work on the east shaft began in 1888.

At the head of east shaft stood the East Winding House, within which was a magnificent steam winding engine. This was built in 1891 by Thornewill and Warham of Burton-on-Trent.

Engine number 603 was originally a twin cylinder horizontal steam engine.

However, around 1904, this was upgraded to a more powerful and efficient horizontal tandem compound engine, complete with an unusual diablo winding drum.

At its peak the colliery employed around two thousand eight hundred people and produced over a million tons of coal per year.

In 1967, Elliot Colliery closed and its building were subsequently demolished and machinery was sold off or scrapped.

Fortunately, the East Winding House and its Thornewill and Warham steam engine escaped this fate. You can now visit the restored Winding House and discover the story of Elliot Colliery, the local coal industry and experience the massive winding engine in action.

Admission is free and the attraction is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 11am and 4pm. For more information, call 01443 822666. Gareth Llewellyn