Early development (1857–1880s) Ferndale Colliery originated from the ambitious vision of
David Davis, a prominent Welsh coal owner who had already established successful operations in the neighbouring
Aberdare Valley. In 1857, Davis leased the mineral rights to 500 acres of land at
Blaenllechau, then a largely agricultural area in the previously undeveloped
Rhondda Fach valley. The initial development proved extremely challenging. Davis's first attempts to access the profitable No. 3 Rhondda seam failed completely, nearly leading him to abandon the venture. Control then devolved to Lewis's son, Frederick Lewis Davis, and in 1890 the operation was formally incorporated as David Davis and Sons Limited. This merger created one of Britain's largest coal companies, with an annual output exceeding 20 million tons and representing more than a third of total South Wales coal production.
Wartime operations and nationalisation (1940s–1950s) By the outbreak of
World War II, only three pits remained in active production: No.1, No.5, and No.9. The South Wales coalfield became part of the NCB's South-Western Division, with the Ferndale pits assigned to the No.3 (Rhondda) Area's No.1 Group. Under nationalisation, the remaining pits continued to operate successfully. No.1 pit worked the Yard and Two-Feet-Eight seams, No.5 pit extracted coal from the Yard and Two-Feet-Nine seams, and No.9 pit accessed the Two-Feet-Eight, Yard, and Gellideg seams. The complex maintained its own coal preparation plant, road transport depot, and coalface prop repair workshop. In 1945, the combined workforce of pits No.1 and No.5 totalled 768 men. However, the 1950s brought increasing economic pressures as the NCB implemented policies to close smaller, less economical pits while reorganising larger operations. Despite continued production and investment in safety improvements, including water infusion systems to suppress airborne coal dust tested in 1944, the Ferndale complex could not escape the broader trend of colliery closures affecting the South Wales coalfield. The end came in 1959 when the NCB closed the remaining Ferndale pits (No.1 and No.5), followed by the closure of Tylorstown No.9 in October 1960. This marked the end of over a century of coal extraction at Ferndale, concluding an operation that had begun as a pioneering venture into the untapped steam coal resources of the Rhondda Valley and had grown to become one of the most significant mining complexes in South Wales. ==Disasters==