Nine Mile Point colliery was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

at Cwmfelinfach in the South Wales Valleys, originally known as "Coronation Colliery", and constructed between 1902 and 1905. The deepest shaft was 1,176 feet deep. Seven men were killed on 13 August 1904 during the establishment of the mine. It was renamed Nine Mile Point as that was the distance of the tramroad from the edge of Lord Tredegar's boundary in Newport to the colliery. At its peak it employed 2,105 men, who lived mainly in the surrounding villages of

Wattsville Wattsville is a small village in the Sirhowy Valley, eight miles north west of Newport, built in the 20th century for accommodation for mine workers. Amenities Modern Wattsville consists of two villages, Wattsville and Brynawel. It consists of o ...

and Cwmfelinfach. In 1935, 164 men "stayed down" in a "

sit in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to m ...

" protest, the first ever in the South Wales

coalfield A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological. A coalfield often groups the seams of ...

, over the use of scab labour. In 1929 riots broke out at the colliery. The reasons for the riot were to be found in the employment of

blackleg labour A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...

, with more than 700 villagers and miners rioting at the time, taking several days for police to disperse and maintain control. The colliery closed in 1964.

External links

Welsh Coal Mines - the brief history of every pit in Wales

BBC Coal House site
{{coord, 51, 36, 53, N, 3, 10, 06, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Collieries in South Wales Buildings and structures in Caerphilly County Borough History of Monmouthshire Underground mines in Wales 1929 in Wales Riots and civil disorder in Wales 1929 riots