Winding House

Useful Information

Location:	Cross St, Elliots Town, New Tredegar NP24 6EG. From Swansea/M4 follow A465 Heads of the Valley Road 44 km to exit Rhymney, A469 to New Tredegar 7.2 km, keep left on A4049 1.5 km. On the left. Large Parking lot on the right 200 m down the road, footpath to the museum. Signposted. (51.716889, -3.235787)
Open:	All year last Sat of the month 12. [2026]
Fee:
Classification:	Coal Mine
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Winding House, Cross Street, New Tredegar, Caerphilly, NP24 6EG, Tel: +44-1443-822666. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1998	site renovated and opened as a museum.
2006	closed for a £2.5 million upgrade.
2008	The Winding House county museum opened.
2024	museum closed to the public.

Geology

The South Wales Coalfield is rich in coal seams which deposited in a syncline or basin. During the Upper Carboniferous or Pennsylvanian thick seams were deposited in the lower parts and generally thinner and sparser seams in the upper parts. Between the coal seams sandstone was deposited which is called Pennant Sandstone and was and is used for building houses. The rocks were uplifted to 300–600 m asl, and later the valley cut through the coal seams and made them accessible. The quality of the coal increases from east to west. In the east the seams have bituminous coals and in the west and north of Neath they are anthracite. The Rhondda Valley was particularly known for steam coals which fuelled steamships

Description

The former winding house of the colliery in the small town New Tredegar is today a mining museum simply named Winding House. For those who are not aware: a winding house is where the wind for the mine elevator is located, typically a steel rope operated by a steam engine or later by an electric engine. In this case it is the original steam powered Victorian winding engine of the abandoned Elliot Colliery. The machinery is maintained by dedicated volunteers and run on special events, on the last Saturday of the month, and on Bank Holidays.

The museum is a modern glass-walled building which extends the winding house. It has exhibitions on the industrial history of the Rhymney Valley. This includes a collection of documents, photographs and objects illustrating day to day life at the height of the Industrial Revolution. There is also a coffee shop and a gift shop.

But the main sight is the Elliot Colliery Steam Winding Engine, which was installed in August 1891 by Thornewill and Warham. It has two horizontal cylinders each 42" in diameter, both having a 6-foot stroke, with a Cornish type valve gear. This was called a twin tandem compound model. In 1904 the engine was upgraded with two high-pressure cylinders. However, it was never replace by an electric engine, and was still in operation in 1967 when the pit was closed. The engine and the grade II* listed winding house were restored by the Caerphilly County Borough Council in 1998.

The current museum is the result of a £2.5 million funding in 2006, and after two years the new museum and renovated engine were opened to the public. However, probably caused by Corona or a general decline in visitor numbers, the museum generated a loss of £94,000 annually. As a result the Caerphilly County Borough Council closed the museum in early 2024 to the public. Winding House is open on the last Saturday of each month between midday and 2pm. The engine is run at 12pm and depending on the number of visitors, probably later again. Refreshments are also available. This skeleton service is provided by local volunteers.

Elliot Colliery was one of the pits sunk in the late 19th century. In its heydays, before the First World War, more than a million tonnes of coal were mined per year and almost 3000 people were employed. The colliery closed in 1967 when the coal deposit was finally exhausted. Most of the site was cleared except for the East Winding House. All the pits in the valley were closed by the end of the 20th century. But the landscape was remodeled and the spoil heaps were removed, today, there is no longer any sign that the valley ever had an industrial past.