Auchenbegg Colliery

Overview

The first deep mine in the Coalburn district of the Lesmahagow coalfield, opened in 1837 and worked by Waddell and Son until it closed in 1922. An Anderson Boyes coal cutter abandoned underground at closure was dug up by opencast mining in 1988 and is now in the National Mining Museum Scotland.

History

Auchenbegg Colliery, by Coalburn in the Lesmahagow coalfield, was the first in the district where coal was worked as a deep mine: the Jim Hamilton Heritage Society dates it to 1837, though the Coalburn Heritage page speaks of almost two hundred years of working. Its miners lived in the hamlet of Auchenbegg, one of those that grew up beside the early pits, and whose people later moved into Coalburn as the rows were judged unfit.

In 1913 it belonged to Waddell and Son. That October a fireman, illegally handing out detonators at the bottom of the Six Feet seam, was fatally injured when about twenty exploded, probably from his naked cap light, and five others near him were hurt; in November a miner, Walter Johnstone, was crushed by roof coal while holing at the face. His son was killed at the Auchlochan No. 2 mine in 1945.

Auchenbegg closed in 1922, after the strikes of 1921, and its Ell, Nine Feet, Dross, Floating and Six Feet and Smithy workings were abandoned that year. When opencast mining began at Coalburn in 1988, Auchenbegg was the first area worked, and an Anderson Boyes coal cutter of 1913, left underground at closure, was recovered and restored.

Geology

The Ell, Upper and Lower Nine Feet (Splint), Dross, Floating and Six Feet and Smithy coals of the Lesmahagow coalfield, with ironstone.

Workings

Deep pits including No. 2, worked longwall with holing and sprags; machine-cut with an Anderson Boyes coal cutter by 1913.

Closure

Closed in 1922; all its seams were abandoned that year.

What remains

The area was opencast from 1988, the first part of the Coalburn opencast to be worked.

Redevelopment

Opencast coal working from 1988.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• The first deep mine at Auchenbegg operated in 1837. (disputed) ¹
• Deep mining at Auchenbegg lasted almost 200 years. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

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

• The first deep mine at Auchenbegg operated in 1837. (disputed) ¹
• Deep mining at Auchenbegg lasted almost 200 years. (disputed) ²
• Auchenbegg Colliery closed in 1922. ^2,3,4
• An Anderson Boyes coal cutter abandoned underground when Auchenbegg closed was unearthed by opencast mining in 1988. ^2,3
• In October 1913 a fireman distributing detonators in the Six Feet seam was killed when they exploded. ⁵
• Auchenbegg No. 2 belonged to Waddell and Son in 1913. ⁶

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) A Potted History of Deep Mining at Coalburn (Jim Hamilton Heritage Society) — Jim Hamilton Heritage Society of Coalburn
2. (secondary) Coalburn Heritage: Auchenbegg Colliery — Jim Hamilton Heritage Society of Coalburn
3. (secondary) National Mining Museum Scotland (Go Industrial): Anderson Boyes coal cutter used at Auchenbegg Colliery — National Mining Museum Scotland
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Auchenbegg, Floating and Six Feet, abandoned 1922 — British Geological Survey
5. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Auchenbegg, 1913 (Wilson) — Northern Mine Research Society
6. (primary) NMRS Coal Mining Accidents and Deaths: Auchenbegg, No.2, 1913 (Johnstone) — Northern Mine Research Society
7. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan: Stockbriggs/Auchenbegg, Lower Nine Feet (Splint) and ironstone, abandoned 1873 — British Geological Survey
8. (secondary) Accidents post-1926 (newspaper reports) — Scottish Mining Website

Record created: 15 October 2026 · Last researched: 15 October 2026