Bellyford Mine

Overview

A pit just north of Ormiston, East Lothian, first recorded in 1866 and worked by the Edinburgh Collieries Company before its abandonment about 1928. The National Coal Board reopened it from 1949, took in Limeylands' men in 1953 and closed it in November 1961.

History

Bellyford lay just north of Ormiston, on the far side of the main road about 200 yards north of Limeylands Colliery. A memorial stone on the site records it as first recorded in 1866 and employing 127 men in 1880. Its Four Feet workings were abandoned in 1895. In 1914 it was one of the Edinburgh Collieries Company's pits, with 38 men below ground and 24 on the surface working the Four and Five Feet seams, and plans of its Five Feet and Upper and Lower Diamond workings were closed in 1928, when the pit was abandoned.

The National Coal Board began a new mine at Bellyford in April 1949, and production started in January 1954. When Limeylands closed in 1953 its miners were moved to Bellyford, which employed 180 below ground and 155 on the surface. It worked the Great, Splint, Parrot, Three, Four and Five Feet and the Nos. 1 and 2 Diamond seams. A branch of the railway ran from Ormiston to Bellyford and on to Elphinstone and Fleets. Production ceased in November 1961; the mine was used latterly as an airway and was abandoned in December 1962. The Ormiston collieries are now remembered by memorial stones, and Bellyford's stands on the site.

Geology

Midlothian coalfield, Ormiston basin: the Great, Splint, Parrot, Three Feet, Four Feet, Five Feet and Nos. 1 and 2 Diamond seams.

Workings

A nineteenth-century pit abandoned about 1928, and a National Coal Board mine begun in April 1949, latterly an airway; a rail branch from Ormiston.

Closure

Abandoned about 1928; reopened by the National Coal Board, it ceased production in November 1961, served as an airway and was abandoned in December 1962.

What remains

The site is rough ground below Ormiston, marked by a memorial stone.

A memorial stone on the site.

Redevelopment

Unknown.

Related mines

• Bankton Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian.
• Carberry Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian.
• Elphingstone Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian. A railway branch ran from Bellyford to Elphinstone and Fleets.
• Fleets Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian. A railway branch ran from Bellyford to Elphinstone and Fleets.
• Limeylands Colliery — Neighbouring Ormiston pits about 200 yards apart; Limeylands' men moved to Bellyford in 1953.
• Prestonlinks Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian.
• Wallyford Colliery — Edinburgh Collieries Company pits in East Lothian.

Recorded claims

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

• The National Coal Board began sinking at Bellyford in April 1949; production ran from January 1954 to November 1961 and the mine was abandoned in December 1962. ¹
• In 1914 Bellyford belonged to the Edinburgh Collieries Company, with 38 men below ground and 24 on the surface working the Four and Five Feet. ¹
• When Limeylands closed in 1953 its miners went to Bellyford, about 200 yards north across the main road, which closed in 1962. ²
• Bellyford Mine lay north of the railway at Ormiston, with a branch on to Elphinstone Mine and Fleets Colliery. ³
• Bellyford's memorial stone records it as first recorded in 1866, abandoned about 1928 and finally abandoned in 1961, with 127 men employed in 1880. ⁴
• Bellyford's Four Feet workings were abandoned in 1895, its Five Feet and Diamond workings in 1928, and its No. 1 Diamond and other NCB workings in 1962. ^5,6,7

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (secondary) Coal industry: an overview, appendices — East Lothian Fourth Statistical Account
2. (secondary) Ormiston: Economy — The Fourth Statistical Account of East Lothian
3. (secondary) Ormiston — RAILSCOT
4. (observational) Marker, Bellyford Pit (Geograph 5647885) — Geograph
5. (primary) BGS mine plan: Bellyford, No.1 Diamond, abandoned 1962 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
6. (primary) BGS mine plan: Bellyford, Five Feet, abandoned 1928 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans
7. (primary) BGS mine plan: Bellyford, Four Feet, abandoned 1895 — BGS / Mining Remediation Authority mine plans

Record created: 4 October 2026 · Last researched: 4 October 2026