Ty Ebbw Fach Heritage Museum, Six Bells

These miners' lockers now tell a hundred different stories

At the bottom of a deep valley used to lie one of the largest mines of the South Wales Coalfield at Six Bells. In its early life it had been called Arrael Griffin, but ooh on the name of the village in the 1940's with the accession by the National Coal Board (NCB).

Closed in 1988, it suffered the largest post-war mining disaster in the UK. Forty five men out of a total of forty eight working in "W" District were killed.

To honour these men and inform future generations of the history of Six Bells the community has created a 20 mtr high memorial on the pit site as well as this small museum.

Touch screen and a push-button story chair hold stories told by local people of their early lives and experiences. Cabinets hold lamp checks, old photographs and mining memorabilia and relate the stories of the artists Valerie Gantz and 'Chopper' Davies. The latter was a miner at Six Bells and when  his bosses realised his talent they encouraged him to speak on Health and Safety using his images.

Ty Ebbw Fach was previously known as the Coach and Horses, an old coaching inn with an archway where the horses would have been taken through to be fed and bedded down. The community with the aid of Communities First and other bodies refurbished the burnt out building and it is now run by Six Bells Regeneration, a social enterprise consisting of volunteers.

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The building also houses offices and a conference room with a smart screen which is available for hire. With easy parking opposite the building there is also a cafe run separately, which provides excellent refreshments. The whole site has disabled access, including the miners' memorial, Guardian.

On 24th May 2014 the site hosted the Queen's Baton for the Commonwealth Games.

The team who carried the baton up to Guardian for the blessing.