Mining in Wales Mining in Wales Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It was key to the Industrial Revolution. Wales was famous for its coal mining, in the Rhondda Valley, the South Wales Valleys and throughout the South Wales coalfield and by 1913 Barry had become the largest coal exporting port in the world, with Cardiff as second, as coal was transported down by rail. Northeast Wales also had its own coalfield and Tower Colliery (closed January 2008) near Hirwaun is regarded by many as the oldest
Coal industry in Wales gear, the provision of mine ventilation, the use of steam engines for both winding and pumping and the use of underground tramways and canals for transport. Welsh mine-owners pioneered the use of horse-drawn and later steam railways to transport coal to the docks. The transfer from wood to coal as fuel that occurred during the Industrial Revolution was heavily influenced by Welsh innovations. The land under which coal could be found was generally in private ownership. John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was a large landowner in South Wales and developed the coal and iron industries in Glamorganshire in the