Background
Coal mining in the Neath area began with the development of the port of Neath in the 16th century. In 1743 Sir Herbert Mackworth, one of the Mackworth Baronets, began mining at Onllwyn, with production rising with the opening of the Neath and Brecon Railway in 1864. David Bevan opened a pit a Blaendulais in 1872, naming it the Seven Sisters after his seven daughters. The Evans-Bevan family then began exploiting the Swansea Valley from the 1870s, and by nationalisation in 1947 owned seven collieries within seven miles of each other.
Read more about this topic: Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
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