With the closure of the Tower Colliery, an era has ended in Wales.
Although coal had long been used as an important source of warmth in Britain, it was during the Industrial Revolution that the coal industry really took off. To those first industrialists, coal was like the oil of today. It was necessary to make the great steam engines run. It was the power of the revolution.
As the thirst for coal spread, it brought new jobs and opportunities to places in Britain that had previously had few prospects. Wales, often neglected and overlooked, became the centre of attention for British energy seekers, and coal mines appeared all over the map.
The first coal mines were deep, dark, dangerous places, where many people lost their lives. Early coal mining was considered one of the most dangerous occupations around, a fact that has never really changed. As the industrial revolution slowly turned into the modern world and alternative fuel sources were discovered, the importance of coal lessened. Coal mines began to shut down. During the Thatcher Government, a policy was put in place to close down all the deep coal mines in Wales. One group however, refused to go quietly.
At the Tower Colliery in Hirwaun, 23 miners pooled together their redundancy pay, and bought the mine outright. They continued to mine for another 13 years. This week, Tower Colliery has closed its doors, its supply of coal exhausted.
It was the last deep pit coal mine in Wales. Its closure marks the end of an era.
