Afton Colliery

Overview

A New Cumnock colliery worked from 1871 to 1948, whose second shaft belonged for a time to the separate Lanemark Coal Company before New Cumnock Collieries absorbed it in 1909.

History

Afton No. 1 opened in 1871 at New Cumnock and worked until October 1948, transferring to the National Coal Board on nationalisation that year. A second shaft, Afton No. 2, belonged to the separate Lanemark Coal Company before that company was itself absorbed into New Cumnock Collieries in 1909; Afton No. 2 closed in 1914. New Cumnock's coal industry as a whole grew from the late 18th century and remained the area's principal employer into the 1960s, with five collieries -- including Afton -- still operating in 1950 alongside the much larger Knockshinnoch Castle Colliery, the site of Scotland's best-known post-war mining disaster later that same year.

Workings

No reliable detail on Afton's own individual underground workings has yet been located, beyond the existence of two shafts (Afton No. 1 and No. 2) under separate ownership for part of its life.

Closure

Afton No. 1 closed in October 1948 on transfer to the National Coal Board; the separate Afton No. 2 shaft, under the Lanemark Coal Company, had already closed in 1914.

What remains

No reliable current-condition detail specific to the colliery site has yet been located.

Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Afton No. 2 belonged to the separate Lanemark Coal Company until that company was absorbed into New Cumnock Collieries in 1909; Afton No. 2 closed in 1914. ¹
• Five collieries, including Afton, were still operating in New Cumnock in 1950 with a combined workforce of over 1,500 miners. ²

Photographs & further reading

This page doesn't try to reproduce everything — these are the best original sources found for this mine.

Sources

1. (primary) Afton No.1 Colliery — Canmore (Historic Environment Scotland)
2. (secondary) Afton Brick and Tile Works, New Cumnock — Scotland's Brick and Tile Manufacturing Industry

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026