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Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon is a post-medieval air shaft serving the deep coal workings that developed beneath this part of South Wales. The shaft was sunk through Pennine and South Wales Middle Coal Measures deposits, a sequence of mudstones, siltstones, sandstones, coal seams and ironstone laid down during the Moscovian period of the Carboniferous. These mineral-rich strata made Blaenavon a centre of industrial extraction from the 18th century onwards.
Air shafts were essential to the safety and efficiency of underground coal mining, providing ventilation to deep workings and allowing miners to exit in emergencies. The geological sequence here included valuable iron ore alongside coal, which shaped the character of local industrial development. Ferricrete formed at the top of the ironstone-bearing sequences and further enriched the ore deposits.
The monument is protected by Cadw under reference MM293, recognising its significance as a surviving structure from the era when Wales was a major source of coal and iron for Britain's industries. The shaft remains visible evidence of the intensive exploitation of these Carboniferous resources that transformed the South Wales landscape.
Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference MM293. View the official record →
Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon is a post-medieval air shaft serving the deep coal workings that developed beneath this part of South Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference MM293.
Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a air shaft. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is MM293.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Aaron Brute's Level and Iron Bridge (0.9 km), Coity Sandstone Quarry and Incline (1.7 km), Capel Newydd, Blaenavon (site of) (3.2 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Old Coal Pits, Blaenavon stands on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.