Abertridwr, Caerphilly

Abertridwr [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/247987] (Welsh = "the mouth of the three waters") is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, Wales situated 3 miles north-west of Caerphilly town.

Coal Mining

Like many villages and towns in the area, Abertridwr was previously [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/376545] a coal mining community [http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/371814] within the South Wales coalfield and South Wales Valleys. Windsor Colliery was opened in 1898 by the Windsor Colliery Co. Ltd. It was connected underground to the colliery at Senghenydd for ventilation purposes.

On June 1, 1902, a platform collapsed in the mine, tipping nine men into 25 feet of water, which had gathered in the sump. Three managed to escape drowning by clinging onto floating debris, but the other six lost their lives.

In 1918, the mine employed 1,923 men; by 1945, this number had fallen to 850. During 1974, the colliery was linked with the Nantgarw colliery, with both working as one unit. The Windsor colliery part of the unit closed in March 1975. Tyn y Parc (Welsh = "house on the park") housing estate now occupies this site.

External links

* [http://www.tridwr.demon.co.uk/abertour/aber1.html Virtual Tour of the Aber Valley]