Aber Valley Heritage

Aber Valley Heritage Aber Valley Heritage Group is a charity. It is made up of a group of local volunteers who work tirelessly to preserve the heritage of the Aber Valley.

They run the Aber Valley Heritage Museum & the Welsh National Mining Memorial and Garden in Senghenydd. Aber Valley Heritage Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday from 11:00am - 2:00pm. Please note that from November - April this is on an appointment only basis. Please email [email protected] to book your visit. Our volunteers can't wait to see you! Aber Valley Heritage Group was forme

d in 2008 by a group of local volunteers keen to preserve the mining heritage of their small valley. In 1901 and 1913, the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd was the site of 2 tragic disasters, where hundreds of men and boys lost their lives. The 15 volunteers, who form a committee with Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer meet on a monthly basis. Over the years they have continually fundraised and successfully set up both the Aber Valley Heritage Museum, and the Welsh National & Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden. Both of these are situated in Senghenydd. On a daily basis, they ensure that both the Museum and Memorial Garden are continuously maintained to a high standard. For further information, please visit our website www.abervalleyheritage.co.uk.

A very big thank you to Lee Cecil, Chair of Draethen, Waterloo & Rudry Community Council, for their incredibly kind dona...
24/08/2026

A very big thank you to Lee Cecil, Chair of Draethen, Waterloo & Rudry Community Council, for their incredibly kind donation of £250 towards the upkeep of our Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden.

The donation has already been put to good use, helping us purchase w**d-control membrane to tackle the w**ds and make maintaining the Garden a little easier for our volunteers.

We are extremely grateful for the support. Every donation, big or small, makes a real difference and helps us continue to care for this very special place of remembrance.

What a fantastic day we had today at our Aber Valley Heritage Museum! We welcomed a lovely group from the Aber Valley’s ...
20/08/2026

What a fantastic day we had today at our Aber Valley Heritage Museum!

We welcomed a lovely group from the Aber Valley’s Men’s Shed. There were actually more of them with us, but a couple were a little camera shy!

We treated everyone to tea, coffee, Welsh cakes and chocolate biscuits before settling down to watch three of our films.

It was lovely to see everyone so quiet and engrossed in the films. Being from the Aber Valley themselves, they could really relate to the stories, places and history being shown.

A special thank you to Phil Laferla, who gave a presentation to the group. It was Phil’s first time speaking to such a large group and he did a brilliant job!

Days like today are exactly why we do what we do, sharing the history and stories of our wonderful Aber Valley with the community. 🖤⛏️

Thank you all for visiting. We hope you enjoyed your time with us as much as we enjoyed having you!

Aber Valley Heritage Museum will be closed on Saturday 29th August 2026 enable our volunteers to have a well-earned brea...
12/08/2026

Aber Valley Heritage Museum will be closed on Saturday 29th August 2026 enable our volunteers to have a well-earned break and enjoy their Bank Holiday weekend. The museum will re-open on Tuesday 1st September. We thank you for understanding.

Please note the Welsh National and Universal Mining Disaster Memorial Garden will still be open on Bank Holiday weekend.

Today we were delighted to welcome Mark Thomas, who is home from Canada, for a visit to our Welsh National and Universal...
07/08/2026

Today we were delighted to welcome Mark Thomas, who is home from Canada, for a visit to our Welsh National and Universal Mining Memorial Garden, Senghenydd.

Mark is the son of Norah Toms, an Abertridwr girl, and is currently back in Wales with family members who have travelled from both Canada and Australia for a wonderful family reunion.

Our volunteer Phil Mason, Mark’s cousin, took him on a whirlwind tour of the Aber Valley, visiting family graves and many places that hold special memories and connections to their family’s history.

It’s always a privilege to see families returning to the Valley to reconnect with their roots and remember those who came before them. Thank you for visiting, Mark, we hope you enjoy the rest of your time back home in Wales. ❤️

🎬 Lights, camera… Aber Valley Heritage Group!On Saturday, we were delighted to have a designated filming slot for Antiqu...
20/07/2026

🎬 Lights, camera… Aber Valley Heritage Group!

On Saturday, we were delighted to have a designated filming slot for Antiques Roadshow at Caerphilly Castle.

For the programme, we took along the original ho**er that sounded at 8:10am on 14th October 1913, following the tragic mining disaster at the Universal Colliery, Senghenydd which remains the worst mining accident in British history. This poignant and significant artefact was thankfully saved from being scrapped by William Michael Gallagher.

It was a privilege to share the ho**er’s remarkable story with Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that our feature makes the final programme!

The episode is due to be broadcast in October, so watch this space for more details.

In the meantime, why not pay us a visit? You can see this remarkable piece of local history for yourself, along with our many other fascinating collections at the Aber Valley Heritage Museum.

We look forward to welcoming you!

19/07/2026

🌿 A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers! 🌿

A big thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly in the heat today at the Memorial Garden. Your hard work is truly appreciated!

Special thanks to Leanne, Julia and Garry, along with our Heritage members Pat, Phil, Ronnie and Andrea, for giving their time and energy to help keep the garden looking its best.

🌼 We’d love your help too! Keeping the Memorial Garden maintained is an ongoing community effort. If you can’t make our designated volunteer days, you’re very welcome to pop along at a time that suits you and spend a little while w**ding or tidying up. Every little bit helps and makes a real difference.

Thank you to everyone who supports and cares for our Memorial Garden. 💚

It was a real pleasure to welcome Charlotte, Amelia and Alfie Simpson to the Welsh National Mining Memorial Garden durin...
13/07/2026

It was a real pleasure to welcome Charlotte, Amelia and Alfie Simpson to the Welsh National Mining Memorial Garden during their visit to the Aber Valley.

Now living in Dubai, they were back in the area visiting friends and took the opportunity to visit the Memorial Garden, learn more about our local heritage, and pick up a copy of Shadow of the Valley to take home with them.

It’s always wonderful to see our history reaching people from across the world. We hope you enjoyed your visit and wish you a safe journey back to Dubai. Thank you for supporting Aber Valley Heritage!

Help Needed Please!!!
13/07/2026

Help Needed Please!!!

We were delighted to welcome a group of pupils from St Cenydd Community School to Aber Valley Heritage.A group of 12 pup...
16/06/2026

We were delighted to welcome a group of pupils from St Cenydd Community School to Aber Valley Heritage.

A group of 12 pupils and 5 teachers made the walk to Senghenydd, where they spent a good hour exploring the museum and learning more about our local heritage.

Afterwards, they headed up to the garden for a picnic lunch before getting stuck in and helping us tackle some of the w**ds around the heathers.

The pupils worked really well, showed great teamwork, and were a pleasure to have with us. We’d be more than happy to welcome them back anytime!

Thank you to everyone involved for a lovely visit, we hope to see you again soon. 🌿👏

14/06/2026

🌿 Thank you to our wonderful volunteers! 🌿

A huge thank you to everyone who helped w**d and care for the Memorial Garden today. Your hard work, time and dedication are truly appreciated, and your efforts help keep this special place looking its best. 💚

A big thank you to our helpers:

🌱 Julia, Elinor and Gwenni Baker
🌱 Garmon, Fflur and Pablo
🌱 Jayne and Matthew Bevan
🌱 Leanne Pearson
🌱 Andy Jenkins
🌱 Garry Lee

We’d also like to thank our Aber Valley Heritage volunteers for their continued support:

🌿 Andrea
🌿 Phil
🌿 Ronnie
🌿 Ken
🌿 Lindsay

Thank you all for giving your time and making a real difference to our community. 👏

Aber Valley Heritage 💚

Address

Senghenydd Community Centre, Gwern Avenue
Senghenydd
CF834HA

Telephone

+442920830445

Website

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