Pit Head Building, Headframe and Tram Circuit is a Grade II* listed building in the Torfaen local planning authority area, Wales. First listed on 9 February 1995. House.
Pit Head Building, Headframe and Tram Circuit
- WRENN ID
- low-bailey-wren
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- Torfaen
- Constituency
- Torfaen MP: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Lab)
- Country
- Wales
- Date first listed
- 9 February 1995
- Type
- House
- Address
- Pit Head Building, Headframe and Tram Circuit, Big Pit Mining Museum, Blaenavon
- OS grid reference
- SO 238 087
- Coordinates
- 51.77234, -3.10445
- Source
- Cadw listing
Description
The Pit Head Building, Headframe, and Tram Circuit is a significant structure made of stone and brick, featuring a steel joist superstructure. The tram circuit is directly connected to the pit head and consists of a loop formed by corrugated iron and brick sheds. The lower section of the north-east elevation of the pit head is constructed from stone, while the upper part is brickwork that includes three square-headed windows. This brickwork extends into the tram circuit, where the elevation is primarily made of corrugated iron. On the south-east elevation, the main construction is brick, supplemented by some iron sheets. The bays are supported by cast iron pipes and rolled steel joists (RSJs). The roof over the tram circuit is made of corrugated iron and is pitched, while the north end of the pit head features a barrel-vaulted roof. Rising from the pitch at the south end is the steel joist headgear.
The shaft equipment remains intact, including a double cage, a banksman's cabin, and a pit top control cabin. At the north-east end, wooden benches with rubber counters are provided for miners to place their hats. Rails extend from this area to the tram circuit. On the north-east side of the tram circuit, there is a 'tippler' and, suspended from the roof structure, the remnants of weighing scales. Rails continue around the circuit, which also features a 'creeper' along its length. An electricity substation is located at the north-west end.
Local climate
Pit Head Building, Headframe and Tram Circuit sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,040 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 83% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 75% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 48 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 89% of listed buildings. Of these, 24 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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