CWM Cokeworks
The Visit
Having never been exploring alone or with no other members for that matter I found myself headed for CWM with ironically 3 non members and feeling somewhat out of my depth. We parked up, crammed a body builder and rugby player through a gap not designed for men of their stature and cracked on.
Was a really good explore as the site seams to go and on with various outbuildings, many many ladders and gorgeous rust everywhere !
Tad Of Welsh Industrial History (mostly pinched from Wevskys blog)
CWM Cokeworks established in 1957 by the National Coal Board to produce coke from coal mined at CWM Colliery. The coke was used in iron foundries, metal smelting furnaces, sugar beet refineries, brickworks, and heating boilers. Coke works were once commonplace, and were frequently attached to collieries or steelworks, but few are now operational in Britain.
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 privatisation of the National Coal Board in 1986.
After closing in 2002 there have been plans for an 800 home redevelopment however the southern tower is a grade 2 listed building so maybe not so soon I hope
On With The Photos
Our first view of the site
looking down the highest conveyor
Views from the top
The lower floors
Back outside
I think these silos were still filled with tar or some goey black stuff anyway
Nipped up one of the tar pot / silo / tower for this snap
Then we bumped into a birdwatcher who showed us the easy way out with directions to the local pub
Cheers for looking guys
The Visit
Having never been exploring alone or with no other members for that matter I found myself headed for CWM with ironically 3 non members and feeling somewhat out of my depth. We parked up, crammed a body builder and rugby player through a gap not designed for men of their stature and cracked on.
Was a really good explore as the site seams to go and on with various outbuildings, many many ladders and gorgeous rust everywhere !
Tad Of Welsh Industrial History (mostly pinched from Wevskys blog)
CWM Cokeworks established in 1957 by the National Coal Board to produce coke from coal mined at CWM Colliery. The coke was used in iron foundries, metal smelting furnaces, sugar beet refineries, brickworks, and heating boilers. Coke works were once commonplace, and were frequently attached to collieries or steelworks, but few are now operational in Britain.
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 privatisation of the National Coal Board in 1986.
After closing in 2002 there have been plans for an 800 home redevelopment however the southern tower is a grade 2 listed building so maybe not so soon I hope
On With The Photos
Our first view of the site
looking down the highest conveyor
Views from the top
The lower floors
Back outside
I think these silos were still filled with tar or some goey black stuff anyway
Nipped up one of the tar pot / silo / tower for this snap
Then we bumped into a birdwatcher who showed us the easy way out with directions to the local pub
Cheers for looking guys
