Bartonholm Colliery

Overview

Bartonholm was an Eglinton Iron Company pit on the low ground between Irvine and Kilwinning, worked for the Ell, Main and Turf coals and later held by William Baird and Company. It was standing idle through the 1890s and was being re-sunk in 1900, after which it employed around 110 to 130 people. On 31 October 1871 firedamp met the naked lamp of a man going down to light the ventilation furnace he had failed to fire the day before, and the explosion killed four — or five, depending on which newspaper you read. The pit was discontinued in 1920, with the neighbouring Bogside kept on as a pumping pit, and worked again briefly into the 1920s. Its bing still stands north of Bogside racecourse.

History

Bartonholm belonged to the Eglinton Iron Company, one of the great Ayrshire iron and coal concerns, and passed with the rest of that business to William Baird and Company. The Lists of Mines show it discontinued in 1894 and 1896, being re-sunk in 1900, and back at work by 1905 with 112 people raising household and manufacturing coal from the Ell, Main and Turf seams. Employment reached 130 in 1910 and 126 in 1923, with a near-shutdown in 1915 when only five people were returned and the Bartonholm No. 1 pit was discontinued. The colliery's worst day was 31 October 1871. Firing the 'cube' — the furnace at the bottom of the upcast shaft that ventilated the mine — was the duty of a miner named Thomas McQuade, who is said to have neglected it on the Sunday. At about three on the Monday morning he went down to the furnace carrying both a Davy lamp and an open one, with twelve miners going back to work behind him. At the end of the main roadway they met a strong blast of firedamp, which fired at the naked lamp. McQuade and three men immediately behind him were killed outright and the rest were injured, several seriously; two or three saved themselves by throwing themselves flat under their hutches. Two of the less badly hurt reached the shaft bottom and signalled for help (see Disasters, below). The Procurator Fiscal investigated.

Geology

Bartonholm worked the Ell, Main and Turf coals of the Ayrshire Coalfield on the flat carse ground where the Garnock and the Irvine meet the sea, country wet enough that a neighbouring pit was retained purely for pumping when the colliery itself stopped.

Geological setting: Sedimentary Beds and Seams (well documented example)

Workings

Ventilation in 1871 was by furnace — the 'cube' at the bottom of the upcast shaft, lit daily — and naked lights were still carried underground. The colliery had at least three numbered pits, No. 3 being where the 1871 explosion happened and No. 1 being discontinued by 1915; the neighbouring Bogside pit was kept as a pumping pit from 1920.

Closure

The Lists of Mines record the colliery discontinued in 1920, with Bogside kept on as a pumping pit from 1 May that year, but 126 people were still returned in 1923. The Bartonholm No. 1 pit had already been discontinued by 1915. No single reliable closure date has been found.

What remains

The colliery is gone and its ground is now cycle path, wildlife reserve and a waste and recycling centre that still carries the Bartonholm name. The pit bing survives as a wooded mound north of the disused Bogside racecourse, photographed in 2013.

Related mines

• Highhouse Colliery — Two of William Baird and Company's Ayrshire collieries, worked under the same management after Baird absorbed the Eglinton Iron Company's pits.
• Kames Colliery — Both were Eglinton Iron Company pits that passed with the rest of that business to William Baird and Company.

Nearby mines

• Auchenharvie Colliery — 4.9 km W
• Doura Colliery — 5.4 km NE

Straight-line distance, within 15 km. Show on the map.

Recorded claims

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

• Bartonholm was worked by the Eglinton Iron Company and then by William Baird and Company. ¹
• The colliery was discontinued in 1894 and 1896, being re-sunk in 1900, employed 112 people in 1905 and 130 in 1910, and was discontinued again in 1920 with Bogside kept as a pumping pit from 1 May. ¹
• The Scotsman of 1 November 1871 reported four men killed by the explosion — William Graham, Charles McDonald, Thomas McQuade and Samuel Holmes — while the Hamilton Advertiser of 4 November reported five, adding William Gilmour, with three others so seriously injured that their recovery was doubtful. (disputed) ²
• The duty of firing the 'cube', a furnace at the bottom of the upcast shaft that ventilated the mine, fell to Thomas McQuade, who is stated to have neglected it; going down at about three in the morning carrying a Davy and an open lamp, with twelve miners behind him, he met a strong blast of firedamp at the end of the main roadway and it fired at the naked lamp. ²
• The colliery worked the Ell, Main and Turf seams, raising household and manufacturing coal. ¹

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Durham Mining Museum: Bartonholm Colliery — Durham Mining Museum, from the Lists of Mines
2. (primary) Bartonholm, 31 October 1871 — Scottish Mining Website, reproducing the Scotsman of 1 November 1871 and the Hamilton Advertiser of 4 November 1871
3. (observational) Bartonholm Pit Bing north of Bogside Racecourse (photographed 2013) — Geograph Britain and Ireland, Leslie Barrie

Record created: 10 September 2026 · Last researched: 10 September 2026