Biggest Tip in Europe

Here are some views of the colliery waste tip.

It was once the biggest man made tip in Europe.

In the late 1950's children from all the local secondary schools planted a tree on the tip.

The colliery waste was now being transported up to the new tip in Bedwellty by way of mechanical buckets

(still looking for photos of this)

which went over head - right over the main road that runs through the village up past the old Secondary Modern School and onto the new tip.

Later they changed the buckets to an enclosed conveyor belt which you can see in some of the other photos as a white snake running up from the colliery

Here is my attempt at a panorama photo but you can see the join!!

Below that is a picture of the tip from Gelligaer which is about 5 miles away

Here to the right you can see that they have already started to remove some of the coal waste as part of the reclamation scheme.

This photo was taken from on top of what was the new tip extension at Bedwellty

Bargoed Colliery and Yards

Here I am told is a photo of the colliery just before it closed in 1977

This one is of the coal trucks marshalling yards

Both gasometers look to be still in use here

Here you can see they have started to demolish the buildings.

The roof is already off the building in the forefront

Bargoed Colliery Old Photos

I must agree that a picture of a site office is very boring so to keep us going for a bit longer here are a few more old photos of the Bargoed Colliery


Starting with the oldest first

Here is a photo of the newly built Power House. From this the colliery was able to generate all their own energy needs. The waste tip was still very small here and much in use as you can see the conveyer taking the waste to the top of the tip.

The top photo shows the tip after it was closed but before any trees were planted on it.

Setting up the Site Office

Well it looks like the Bargoed By Pass opps! "Angel Way" The Bargoed Relief Road may soon be getting started here is the site office being established.

It's situated at the end of Pengam Road

This is looking from Bargoed over to Aberbargoed - you can see the reservoir left of centre in the picture

(just right of the steam)

Also just in view on the left of the picture are three houses from Chapel Street. The pine end of which you will see in later pictures painted "Terracotta" !!
In this picture which is after the closure you can see the start of the conveyor belt that took the slag off to the new tip - I am still on the look out for pictures of the old buckets that went across Commercial Street.

If anyone has one please let me know by placing a comment.
This picture was taken when the colliery was in full production and provided work for most of the men in the Bargoed & Aberbargoed area.
Another view taken from Bargoed showing the offices and West View Villas the official's houses in the background

This is a very clever photo that shows the colliery working and as it was after the reclamation.
The marrying of the two is excellent.

The photo was on the front of the
May 2002
Bargoed Town Council
Community Newsletter

January 2007 and still no real movement on the Bargoed By Pass

So to keep us occupied whilst we wait for some action I have been routing around for some old photographs of the colliery site.
Most are my own but some of the very earlier ones have been given to me and I am not sure of the copy-write.
So apologies in advance to all for not mentioning the photographers by name but I don’t know them.