Mick Petts
“Sultan The Pit Pony” was created by Mick Petts in 1996, is the largest earth sculpture in England. The enormous piece of art is made of more than 60,000 tons of coal shale, stone, earth and is 650 feet long. You can climb it to access views of the surrounding woods, grasslands, marsh and trails.
How long did it take to build Sultan the Pit Pony?
3 years
This prancing pony is a 200 metre long raised-earth artwork by Mick Petts that was completed over a period of 3 years.
When did penallta colliery close?
1 November 1991
The colliery survived the 1984-1985 miners strike, and made impressive gains in production after the return to work. It was closed by British Coal on 1 November 1991 with the last shift led out by a brass band. It was the last deep mine working in the Rhymney Valley.
What happened to pit ponies?
The use of pit ponies went into steady decline after 1913, when the number registered reached a peak of 70,000. The practice of stabling ponies deep in the mines finally came to an end in 1994, when a pony called Flax was brought to the surface at Ellington Colliery in Northumberland for the last time.
Are there any working mines in Wales?
Despite producing a small proportion of Welsh coal, the four underground pits in Wales employ nearly 600 people. The vast majority work at two pits in the Neath Valley: Unity and Aberpergwm. There are two drift mines of a similar size to Gleision which have licences but none are in production at the moment.
When did the last pit pony retire?
1994
The last pit ponies retired in 1994 bringing to an end a partnership between man and beast which had stretched back three centuries.
When were pit ponies last used in UK?
From the archive, 21 January 1972: Last pit ponies leave Yorkshire. The last five pit ponies in the Yorkshire coalfield left Wheldale Colliery, near Castleford, yesterday to begin their journey to an animal centre in Surrey.
Is there any coal left in Wales?
“There is coal in Wales in Swansea Bay and in Liverpool Bay coming into Wales.” There are also reserves off Anglesey. “Two billion tonnes of coal is, in energy terms, the amount of energy we have extracted from the totality of North Sea gas since exploration began.
How deep is the big pit in Wales?
300ft
The shaft at Big Pit, originally known as Kearsley’s Pit, was sunk to the depth of 200ft by the Blaenavon Company in 1860. It was deepened in 1880 to its present depth of 300ft and became known as ‘Big Pit’ because of its unusually large elliptical shaft.
What does Cefn Hengoed mean?
old wood
Hengoed (/ˈhɛnɡɔɪd/) is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley – between Ystrad Mynach to the south and Cefn Hengoed to the north. The village is in the county borough of Caerphilly, in the traditional county of Glamorgan, Wales. The name literally means ‘old wood’ in the Welsh language.
When was hengoed built?
| Hengoed Viaduct | |
|---|---|
| Construction end | 1854 |
| Construction cost | £20,000 |
| Opened | 1854 |
| Inaugurated | 1854 |
What is the Penallta Pony sculpture?
They are a lasting reminder of the long-closed deep mines of Wales and the people and animals who worked in them. The Penallta pony sculpture is perhaps the most imaginative use of a slag heap in Wales and is the largest earth sculpture in the UK.
Is Sultan the Penallta Pony still alive?
When the sculptor of the Penallta pony designed the earthwork, the now-retired Sultan was still alive and a well-loved reminder of the lost coal industry. The sculpture was soon christened Sultan by people locally.
How do I get to Parc Penallta?
Walk through the willow tunnel, watch a dragonfly’s aerial acrobatics over a pond or find the Sleeping Giant, you’ll be well rewarded for your efforts. No visit to Parc Penallta is complete without seeing Sultan the Pit Pony.
What is the story behind the pit pony?
Sultan the Pit Pony sits on the site of the Penallta Colliery, which is now a country park popular with dog walkers and families, a few miles north of Caerphilly. Its magnificent mane, hooves and slender body are shaped from the tons of waste coal shale rock that was left on the site when the colliery closed in 1991.
