The Black Mountains

Cwm coke works is a large site just north of Beddau in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Up until the mid 1800’s Beddau was a small collection of farmsteads at the conjunction of four crossroads. (Incidentally, Beddau, which means ‘graves’, may be a shortening of Croesheol y Beddau, ‘crossroads of the graves’, as it is marked on an ordnance survey map circa. 1833. Criminals were often hanged as crossroads as an example to others…). In the 1860’s coal pits were sunk around Beddau, and the town grew at a steady rate until 1909, which saw the opening of Cwm colliery. As the industry moved in, Beddau grew quickly, and in 1958 Cwm coke works opened, furthering the expansion. At its peak, Cwm colliery was producing hundreds of thousand of tons of high quality, low sulphur coal per year. Much of this was processed at Cwm coke works, into high-grade coke suitable for foundry use. The National Coal Board closed the colliery in 1986, and Cwm Coke works in 2002, leaving yet another small Welsh town deprived and forgotten. It would seem now, work has begun to reclaim the land, so perhaps this magnificent example of commanding industry and stark, utilitarian achitecture won’t be around for much longer.

The works themselves are spectacular, huge looming towers and heavy industrial equipment, all of it off limits to the public of course. If you visit – and any Urban explorer/photographer really should be considering it – be aware, you will be trespassing on a site where dangers are rife. Huge drops, sheer-walled pits full of stagnant water, dangerous chemicals, crumbling walkways, a thousand and one sharp and rusty edges, the list goes on. Also, it is highly likely that you will get busted by the security guard and told to leave. He’s a nice guy though, and the huge Alsatian that’ll probably sniff you out makes a lot of noise, but he doesn’t bite. (Well he didn’t bite me…)

So here are my photos; in no particular order, with a couple from an abandoned church we visited afterwards thrown in for good measure. This is the first creative set I’ve taken, kudos to Adrian Reilly for inspiration.