Report - Cwm Coke (Demo) - Beddau - South Wales - July 2020

[Lenston]

A quick wander to check progress on the demo, quite a bit has gone including the main ovens and conveyors and many of the out buildings. The workshops at the top are still there but i dont see these lasting much longer, a great site over the years and sad to see it finally coming down.

History

Cwm Coke's origins lie with the Great Western Railway and it's insatiable hunger for coal. The GWR sunk pits at the Cwm site in 1909 as well as in other areas of the Rhondda, but Cwm didn't become known for it's coke until 1958 when the coking ovens and associated plant for producing coke and refining the by-products of the coking process were installed. During this time the existing colliery site saw a £9 million investment, by the 1970's the two pits 'Margaret' and 'Mildred' and the coking plant were the workplace of 1,500 men this combined effort produced 515,000 tons of coke per annum. The colliery continued production of coal right up until privatization of the National Coal Board in 1986.
The coking plant remained in use until 2002 producing the low sulfur coke that the foundries of Port Talbot required.

Pics

Thanks
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[mookster]

So sad seeing such a well known longstanding UE icon come down

 

[Seffy]

Jesus! What a classic this is - nearly gone. Never got tired of going here either; was just one of those places. Thanks for the update mate - was only thinking bout this the other day!

 

[Olkka]

Waterworks

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Such a shame

 

[ikkdjct]

Very sad to see this being demolished.

 

[jtza]

One so close to being able to get done but too late.. sad to see it going

 

[Grom]

I was hoping to visit here before it got demo'd. Dammit.

 

[Terminal Decline]

Bloody hell they're going pretty quick, sad to see it disappearing. One of those sites which you always thought would be around for ever

 

[host]

Great update, it’s one of those everyone went now it’s gone they say should have had another last look.

 

[mookster]

I wonder what's going to happen to the wooden cooling towers, as I believe they are listed aren't they?

 

[Lenston]

I wonder what's going to happen to the wooden cooling towers, as I believe they are listed aren't they?

One collapsed on its own a couple of years back after a storm, im guessing they will try and save the other one.

 

[mookster]

One collapsed on its own a couple of years back after a storm, im guessing they will try and save the other one.

Or it'll succumb to a 'mysterious fire' no doubt. These damn spontaneously combusting wooden structures.

 

[5PR1NK5]

Real sad to hear of this One of those places you always think will be around. Thanks for the update and pics Lenston

 

[clebby]

One of the last genuinely old school sites, which has been on the scene since before this website was started. Sad!