Barnsmuir Colliery

Overview

A small Slamannan colliery worked from the 1880s by the Barnsmuir Coal Company and later by a run of small owners, still raising Kiltongue coal with thirteen men in 1954.

History

Barnsmuir lay near Slamannan, in the Stirlingshire coalfield. A John Colquhoun worked at Barnsmuir in 1880, and by the 1890s the Barnsmuir Coal Company of 12 Waterloo Street, Glasgow, was raising household, manufacturing and steam coal there under Edward Gillespie as manager. It employed 149 men in 1894 and 125 in 1896, when A. Colquhoun was under-manager. An abandonment plan of workings at Barnsmuir is dated 1903.

In the twentieth century Barnsmuir passed through the hands of a succession of small owners: William Chalmers, the Hilderston Hill Colliery Company and Patrick and James Horne. It was a small working by then, with 20 men in 1933, 16 in 1937 and 25 in 1940, and abandonment plans followed in 1934 and 1941. In 1954 it was still at work, raising coal from the Kiltongue seam with thirteen men, and the last plan of its abandoned workings is dated 1955.

Geology

The Kiltongue coal of the Slamannan district.

Workings

Unknown.

Closure

Still working with 13 men in 1954; the last abandonment plan is dated 1955.

What remains

Unknown.

Related mines

• Balquhatstone Colliery — Neighbouring Slamannan collieries.
• Binniehill Colliery — Neighbouring Slamannan collieries.

What's uncertain

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

• A John Colquhoun worked at Barnsmuir, Slamannan, in 1880. (uncertain) ²

Recorded claims

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

• In the 1890s the Barnsmuir Coal Company worked Barnsmuir, Slamannan, with Edward Gillespie as manager. ^1,2
• A John Colquhoun worked at Barnsmuir, Slamannan, in 1880. (uncertain) ²
• Barnsmuir employed 149 men in 1894 and 13 in 1954, then working the Kiltongue seam. ³
• Later owners of Barnsmuir were William Chalmers, the Hilderston Hill Colliery Co. Ltd and Patrick and James Horne. ³
• Abandonment plans of Barnsmuir are dated 1903 and 1955. ^4,5

Sources

1. (primary) List of Mines in Scotland, 1893 — Scottish Mining Website
2. (secondary) Mining in Stirlingshire: list of mines, owners, managers and workers — Tom Paterson
3. (primary) Barnsmuir Colliery — Durham Mining Museum
4. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21912215: Barnsmuir, abandoned 1903 — British Geological Survey
5. (primary) BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plan 21854494: Barnsmuir, abandoned 1955 — British Geological Survey

Record created: 21 October 2026 · Last researched: 21 October 2026