The Bwllfa Dare No. 1 Pit was opened in 1856 by E Lewis and worked by the Byllfa Colliery Co. Ltd., then Brogdens and then the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare Steam Coal Collieries Ltd. There seem to have been two Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare companies. The first was founded in November 1876 to purchase the lease from Brogdens. George, the only Brogden son not to be a partner in John Brogden and Sons, was connected with this first Bwllfa-Merthyr company. It seems to have been reorganised in 1881. On 17 April 1890 a meeting was held at the pit head, attended by about 700 colliers, at which George was presented with an illuminated address and described as the proprietor.David Owen (2001), South Wales Collieries, Vol. 1, Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd., .Higgins (1978) p 249
