In August 1845, the trustees of the Marquess of Bute bought the Cwmsaerbren farm from William Davies for a fee of £11,000 to sink the first steam coal pit in the Rhondda valley. A trial pit was sunk from 1850, but progress was slow because all equipment was carried over rough tracks by horse and cart from the Taff Vale Railway's then terminus at Dinas. In April 1853 the first seam of what was called the Bute Merthyr Colliery was struck at a depth of 125 yards, and production was begun in early 1855.