Casgliadau Arlein

Digitial photograph of a chalk board listing progress on mining timber orders by Forestry Commission, South East Wales District, Usk Road, Wentwood, Llanvaches, Gwent, found in garage of Wentwood Forester's House in 1996 which previously belonged to retired Forest Manager, Don Hoskins. Size 42" x 32", plywood painted black. Originally from the Wentwood Forestry yard office showing details of colliery orders for pole timber (European larch or Norway spruce). The south Wales collieries named on the board closed in the following years - Garw 1985, Penallta 1991, Abercynon 1988, Abernant 1988, Betws New Mine 1993 (but reopened by an employee buy-out 1994 to 2003), Nantgarw 1986. It appears that the board pertains to a date prior to the closure of Garw Colliery in December 1985 and thus that the annotation ‘suspended’ against Abercynon Colliery (“12/9/85”) and the two annotations ‘suspended’ against Nantgarw Colliery (both “16/9/85”) usefully date the board to 1985 and do not relate to their run-down to closure, and that they may instead relate to the NCB suspending the orders for other operational reasons. No colliery named Jarrow appears to have operated in the post nationalisation period, although a number of collieries operated within a few miles of the town into the 1980s. The national coal strike ended in March 1985, so it is likely that the orders detailed on the board all post-date March 1985 and pre-date the three annotated suspension dates of September 1985.