Bersham Colliery Bank
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Most towns look after their landmarks and Bersham Colliery Bank is a landmark for Wrexham. We should be using this unique geographical landmark to celebrate Wrexham to the many passersby on the A483; instead we are going to flog it off for use as concrete blocks. There will be a short term gain for BGL, but a long term loss for the wider community.
The Bank was the scene of a series of trials for the stabilization of colliery tips by Bersham Colliery manager, Tom Ellis. Tom was criticized for his efforts, but in fact he was ahead of his time. Once the NCB and the rest of the country had seen what an unstable colliery bank could do at Aberfan in south Wales, suddenly Tom Ellis and Bersham Colliery Bank were promoted as the example for others to follow. In short Bersham Coliery Bank is part of Wales’s industrial and national heritage.
Finally – it is not a slag heap! Slag comes from steelworks!!
It will be a sad day for Wrexham and for Wales if this planning permission is renewed. It should not have been given in the first place.
The Bank was the scene of a series of trials for the stabilization of colliery tips by Bersham Colliery manager, Tom Ellis
That is something I didn’t know. Do you happen to know when the pit started the colliery tip and if it was used until it was closed?
I do wonder if these things are not best left alone. I’m no expert, but I expect as soon as you start to move it, there will be lots of dust across the A483, and I suspect the contents of it might not be too healthy having heard some of the ‘old’ miner’s coughs. It seems strange to have an anti-pollution speed limit on the A483 then let the locals breath in the dust!
I expect the Bersham colliery tip was in use from the very beginning when they sank the shafts in the 1870s to access the coal. There would have been a lot of material and they would not have wanted to transport it any further than necessary. I don’t know if the tip was in use until the colliery closed; mining techniques changed over the years and they developed mining techniques that minimized the need to waste time and money transporting waste material to the surface.
Bersham was the pit that dodged the bullet of the regular pit closures list as the managers and the miners there always devised ways of making the colliery more efficient than its competitors despite geology often being against them. The story of Bersham highlights a more positive side of our industrial heritage which is another reason why this landmark should be preserved rather than turned into concrete blocks.
I am sure the surviving ex-miners will know when the tip stopped being used.
There is mention elsewhere that the tip has some stability issues. Sounds like an excellent reason to build on the legacy of Tom Ellis. Moreover, Bersham Colliery Bank is more of a monument to Welsh heritage than all the statues that people are currently arguing about will ever be. This is a real monument, not some passing fashion.
Save our slag heap.
And yes, it is a slagheap according to the dictionary definition of what a slag heap is.
Katy, I am sure the slag heaps will return once the pubs and clubs re-open!
Bersham Colliery Bank is a reminder of our past. Can anyone remember when somebody put a Hollywood style sign on it? Been trying to find a picture on the internet but no luck. Late 90s?
Bonc yr Bersham should become country park like Bonc yr Hafod. The view from the top is amazing. It is a landmark.
One of the problems making it into a country park is that it is a lot less stable than Hafod. A lot of the core of the ‘hill’ has actually burnt away over many years — locals will tell you about trees suddenly going on fire and dogs going down a hole never to come out again. It may look pretty but it is actually very dangerous.
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