Universal Colliery, Senghenydd, operated between 1893 and 1928. At the height of its production, it supplied over 10,000 tons of coal a week to the British Fleet based in Scapa Flow during World War One. An accident in 1901 killed 81 men and on 14 October 1913 Universal was the scene of the worst ever mining disaster in the UK when an explosion killed 439 men and boys. A memorial to the disasters (nprn 410287) stands nearby. Following closure, the site was left derelict for many years; buildings were demolished and the two shafts were filled and capped in 1985. Today there are no significant remains of the colliery apart from grassed-over waste tips and a dismantled tramway, both adjoining on the north west, and the shell of the former office building (nprn 410286) to the north. The site is occupied by a timber yard; however this concern has recently closed.
B.A.Malaws, RCAHMW, 15 February 2010.